by Ginn Hale
Kiram wanted to dispute Javier’s argument but he had little evidence beyond his own deep dislike of the holy father. “He was in possession of Bahiim writings and confessions.”
“Even if he did have them he wouldn’t be able to read them.” Javier glanced away and when he spoke again his voice sounded raw. “At this point it doesn’t matter who’s behind the curse. It’s Fedeles who’s riding with the bishop’s men to arrest me. He’s the one I would have to kill to win a trial by combat.”
Kiram didn’t need to be told that combat would be the only way that Javier could win his trial. The royal bishop certainly wouldn’t accept Alizadeh’s expert testimony.
Kiram tried to imagine Fedeles in any state but that of blissful mania. All that came to mind were those brief instances when he’d seemed tortured and the sad morning after he’d tried to kill himself.
“Fedeles wouldn’t want to betray you,” Kiram said at last. “And if the shadow curse has finally taken over his mind, death might be a mercy—”
“I won’t kill him!” Javier glared at Kiram, the muscles of his jaw flexing with restrained anger. Kiram met Javier’s hard gaze, though the fury in his expression frightened him.
“Refusing to think about it won’t make it go away,” Kiram said firmly. “You have to face this.”
“No!” Javier slammed his fist into the tree and hissed in pain as his knuckles scraped open.
“Would you let him kill you, then?” Kiram demanded. Just the thought of that hurt Kiram far more deeply than any blow Musni had struck against him the previous night.
Javier met his gaze for only a moment, then lifted his head and stared up into the bare branches above him. “He’s the only family I have.”
“I know. And I understand how hard it is to lose your family, I do. But getting yourself killed won’t save Fedeles. It won’t free him.”
“I know. The truth of the matter is that I’m too much of a coward to make any such sacrifice. If it came down to a duel, I’d kill him…I will kill him.” He looked desolate.
“Maybe it doesn’t have to come down to a duel. Maybe there is still a way to break the shadow curse and bring Fedeles back to his senses.”
“There’s one way that Alizadeh mentioned but it’s just more of the same.” Javier scowled at his bleeding knuckles.
“What is it?” Kiram asked.
“At this point the simplest course would be to destroy the vessel that houses the curse the same way Alizadeh broke the ghost locket that held Yassin’s spirit.”
“And that would also mean killing Fedeles, wouldn’t it?” Kiram asked.
Javier gave a single nod in response.
They stood in silence, Javier staring up at the sky and Kiram trying to think of some solution. Absently, he watched their horses grazing contentedly on wildflowers and spring grasses. A pair of swallows darted through warm shafts of sunlight. It seemed terribly wrong that the world could be so beautiful even now.
A breeze rolled over him, bringing the scents of blossoms and the sea.
“My brother’s ship will be sailing to Yuan tomorrow. We could go with him.” Kiram didn’t know what he’d have to do to convince Majdi to let him board the ship but it didn’t matter if it meant saving Javier.
Javier continued to watch the faint wisp of a cloud as it rolled against the sky. “There has to be a way to free Fedeles…some way that I can save him.”
Javier was wrong; there didn’t have to be a way. Some problems had no solutions. A right answer was not assured, not in mathematics, not in mechanism, and especially not in the lives of men. Kiram was beginning to truly understand that and yet he needed to be able to offer Javier some hope.
And then the steel ribs and shining glass panes of Donamillo’s mechanical cures whirled in his mind. Dark etched symbols shifted and blurred as Kiram tried to remember them exactly.
“What about Donamillo’s mechanical cures?” Kiram suggested. “Even if Donamillo is too ill to help us you might recognize some of the Bahiim symbols that he used.” Kiram nodded to himself. “If we need to, I think I could build another mechanical cure. The symbols aside, I saw enough of Donamillo’s work that it wouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Are you joking?” Javier looked uncertain.
“Not at all. It’s what Alizadeh himself said, isn’t it? The key to the shadow curse is in those mechanical cures and I’m a very good mechanist, you know.”
Javier laughed and to Kiram’s surprise he pulled him into his arms. He held Kiram tightly, resting his head on Kiram’s shoulder. “You’re the best mechanist I know.”
Kiram could feel his face flushing and his entire body surging with a flustered excitement.
“I’m the only mechanist that you know.” Kiram drew back but Javier kept one arm across his shoulder. Kiram leaned into him despite the close sound of chapel bells ringing and the knowledge that they were in the Cadeleonian district.
“You’re a genius.” Javier gazed at him with proud affection.
“I haven’t gotten it all figured out,” Kiram cautioned. “I don’t know how we’ll get Fedeles inside the mechanical cure if the shadow curse really has taken control of him.”
“If what Prince Sevanyo says is true, then Fedeles will come to us,” Javier said. “He’s riding with the royal bishop’s men to arrest me and seize control of my title and holdings. He’ll follow where I lead.”
“All the way into a mechanical cure?” Kiram asked.
“Close enough.” Javier nodded. “I’ve overpowered Fedeles before, even when the curse was full upon him. I can do it again.”
“So that’s our plan, then?” Kiram asked.
Javier was quiet for moment, thinking. “We should give Alizadeh this week to convince the Bahiim to help but after that, if they’re still refusing him, then we’ll ride for the Sagrada Academy.”
“A week…” The idea of waiting, knowing that the bishop’s men could arrive any moment, made Kiram nervous but if the Bahiim could be convinced to act against the shadow curse then their problems would be solved. It was worth the risk.
“Lady Grunito would kill me if I wasn’t here to stand at Nestor’s wedding tomorrow,” Javier said lightly.
“True.” Kiram smirked. “It would be a shame if after all this you were killed by Lady Grunito.”
“You’d cry, wouldn’t you?” Javier asked with a teasing smile.
Kiram started to laugh but Javier quieted him with a kiss. Kiram knew it was meant to be light and fleeting but as he leaned in Javier responded, gripping him hard, and suddenly the tender touch of lips deepened. Kiram opened his mouth and pulled Javier against him, returning the thrust and heat of his kiss. Longing surged through Kiram. He needed to feel the raw strength and heat of Javier’s body against his own.
“We shouldn’t…” Javier whispered as he caressed Kiram’s back, holding him close.
“I know…” Kiram’s words came out in a breathless murmur and Javier kissed him again. Reflexively, Kiram’s fingers traced the buttons at the front of Javier’s trousers. A stiff heat rose beneath his touch. And all at once his own clothes seemed too hot and confining. “Why does Cadeleonian clothing have to be so complicated?”
“Perhaps it ought to be done away with.” Javier reached for Kiram’s belt, loosening it with a hungry desperation.
Soon their clothes hung open and they fell upon each other among the grasses and flowers, crushing blossoms beneath the thrust and drive of their passion. It was rough and wanton but he exalted in the sweat and dirt, feeling alive and unafraid in the throes of ecstasy.
Afterwards they lay grass stained and spent. From across the glade the horses watched them as if they were ridiculous curiosities. Shafts of sunlight dappled Javier’s bare chest like the light from the glowing blessings that had fallen from the White Tree. Javier closed his eyes, a satisfied smile curving his lips even as he drifted on the edge of sleep.
Kiram stretched and rolled to his feet.
“Lazy m
an.” Kiram poked Javier with his toe. “You can’t just lie around like this all day you know.”
Javier’s only response was a sigh.
Kiram turned to find his belt and froze at the sight of Elezar standing only ten feet away. A look of rage contorted Elezar’s features and his hand was already on the hilt of his sword.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kiram fastened his belt but didn’t bother with the buttons of his shirt.
“Elezar…” Kiram stepped forward and instantly realized his error in closing any distance between Elezar and himself.
“You filthy whore!” Elezar swung his blade and Kiram lunged back, but not quickly enough. The tip of the sword slashed a thin furrow across Kiram’s chest. Hot rivulets of blood sprung up and a sick wave of terror surged through Kiram. There was no way he could fight Elezar and win.
A bestial roar of rage burst from Elezar as he charged forward. His sword flashed and Kiram heard the blade cut the air. He lunged to the side but Elezar moved with shocking speed. Kiram slipped and he went down to one knee. Elezar thrust for his throat.
Then suddenly Javier bounded between them and everything seemed to stop.
Elezar stood dead still, his face suddenly pale and his eyes locked on Javier. Javier gave an odd gasp, almost like a laugh. The open front of his white shirt reflected the sun, flashing as it waved in the breeze. For an instant Kiram thought that Elezar had stayed his hand. But then he saw the tip of Elezar’s blade jutting from the back of Javier’s shirt. Blood streamed from the wound as Javier jerked himself back off the sword.
“How stupid,” Javier whispered and he fell at Kiram’s feet.
Elezar stared at Javier, his sword still stretched out over Javier’s prone body, the blade black with blood.
A wild rage enveloped Kiram. He threw himself at Elezar, hammering his face with savage fury and then wrenching the bloody sword from his hand. Elezar offered him no resistance. Kiram knocked him to his knees and then kicked him down into the ground. Elezar lay there and sobbed in the dirt.
Kiram stumbled to Javier. He dropped to his side and shoved his hands against the hot pulse of blood that welled up from Javier’s chest. He couldn’t keep it in. Rivulets seeped between his fingers and spilled over his hands. The pungent smell of blood filled the air and hot, dark pulses surged against Kiram’s palms. Flies buzzed over his fingers. More blood seeped from Javier’s back and soaked the soil to a red mud beneath his knees.
A wracking sob broke from Kiram. Javier tried to lift his hand to Kiram’s and failed. His eyes fluttered and his gaze slipped from Kiram’s face to stare at the empty sky above them.
“Use the white hell,” Kiram hissed to him. “Javier, open the shajdi!”
“…me to oak…” Javier whispered.
“Your oak? Where you practice?”
Javier gave no response but that had to be it. They had to get to the oak.
“Elezar, you bastard!” Kiram screamed. “Help me, you fucker!”
Elezar came immediately. Dirt and blood caked his face. Despite his miserable appearance he moved fast and with sure strength, lifting Javier while Kiram kept his hands pressed into Javier’s wound. They moved him to the foot of the oak tree without once meeting each other’s gaze. As they laid him down Lunaluz came running from across the glade. The stallion circled them in agitation, attempting to protect Javier but unable to discern what threatened him.
“Calm the horse,” Kiram commanded. Elezar did as he was told, taking Lunaluz’s bridle and whispering soft, broken words to the stallion.
“He’ll be all right,” Elezar murmured, on the edge of tears. “The white hell will heal him.”
Anger flared through Kiram at Elezar’s blind faith.
“He doesn’t have the control of it he used to have,” Kiram snapped at Elezar. “He sacrificed that to save Fedeles.”
Elezar went dead white.
Kiram turned his attention to Javier. “You have to open the shajdi,” he insisted. “Open it now!”
Javier curled his hand weakly over Kiram’s. His touch felt like ice and his skin looked almost blue from blood loss.
“Please, God. Please…” Elezar moaned.
“We brought you to the oak. You have to open the shajdi.” Kiram’s voice broke in his throat but he kept talking. “Come on, Javier. You love to show off. Open the shajdi and show me what you learned from Alizadeh. Show me.”
The slightest tic flickered at the corner of Javier’s mouth as if even now he was trying to flash one of his arrogant smiles.
“Show me how amazing you are,” Kiram coaxed.
He felt a shiver pass through Javier’s cold hand and an answering pulse of heat rushed up from the gnarled oak roots beneath them. The air stilled. Then a blazing white fire roared up from Javier’s chest, scorching Kiram’s fingers and searing up his arms as it grew larger and brighter. Kiram clenched his eyes against the blinding light and yet it still shone into him. Waves of consuming heat rolled over him and a deafening roar filled his ears but he didn’t dare to withdraw from Javier’s side. He kept his hands pressed over Javier’s wounded chest as searing white flames engulfed them both like a burning shroud.
The gash in Kiram’s chest felt as if it were filled with boiling lead and he knew he was screaming, but all he heard was the roar of the flames invading his body and burning deep into his flesh.
Somewhere in the back of his mind Kiram knew that this was the shajdi as Javier felt it: raw power to be shaped and controlled, but Kiram had no training and without Javier to shield him, he could only burn in the shajdi’s flame.
Then he felt Javier’s grasp on his hand tighten. The flames dimmed and the terrible heat relented to a luminous shimmer and then even that faded, leaving Kiram shivering.
“Kiram,” Javier said in a hoarse whisper.
Opening his eyes, Kiram realized that he had collapsed across Javier’s chest and jerked himself upright. Ash and dying red embers encircled them and the air smelled of smoldering wood. Charred streaks traced the trunk of the oak and the earth all around the two of them had blackened to soot. Flakes of white ash drifted down over them like strange snow.
“Are you all right?” Javier asked. He still looked deathly pale and fallen ash powdered his hair dull gray. Only the beginning of a raw scab closed Javier’s wound, but it no longer bled.
“I’ll live.” Kiram looked down at his chest. A ropy scar stood where Elezar’s blade had sliced him open. “What about you?”
“For today at least.” Javier slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows.
“Thank God!” Elezar sounded like he might burst into tears again. He cautiously led Lunaluz closer to Javier.
“God had nothing to do with it.” Javier scowled at Elezar, who bowed his head like a beaten dog. With Kiram’s help Javier rose to his feet.
“I can’t believe you stabbed me,” Javier told Elezar.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you!” Elezar protested. “I would never…It was Kiram—”
“No, Elezar,” Javier growled. “You drove your sword right through my chest. That wasn’t Kiram’s doing. And it is no more forgivable that you intended that blow to kill him.”
Elezar shot Kiram an angry glare that made Kiram want to lunge for Elezar’s fallen sword and make the man swallow it. But he controlled his anger. There had been more than enough swordplay already.
“He’s done something to you, Javier.” Elezar wiped the back of his sleeve across his bloodied, filthy face. He sounded like a petulant child. “He’s bewitched you, seduced—”
“Open your eyes, Elezar,” Javier snapped. “If there was a seduction or a bewitching you know it would be my doing. Kiram is a decent man from a good family whereas I’m the hell-branded duke. Honestly, which of the two of us do you think would resort to seduction? Kiram has been nothing but good and honest in all the time we’ve been together. He was loyal to me even when it cost him the comfort of his home. It might be even more telling to ask yourself what it i
s that you have done to me, Elezar. Counting the autumn tournament this is the second time you’ve stabbed me. Is this really how you keep your oath of loyalty? How you treat our friendship?”
“I didn’t mean to do it.” Elezar sounded so miserable that Kiram nearly felt compassion for him. But the fact that Elezar had fully intended to murder him and had nearly killed Javier squelched his sympathy.
Elezar stroked Lunaluz’s cheek gently and laid his face against the stallion’s neck. “I would die for you, Javier. I swear it. I would die.”
Javier’s hard expression softened a little and he stepped forward. “I don’t want you to die. But I do want your word that you will never raise a hand against Kiram.”
“But he…you and he…” Elezar protested.
“I will not have him harmed,” Javier stated firmly. “He is dear to me, Elezar. More dear than my own life. He is my heart and soul. And if you raise a hand against him again, then you make me your enemy.”
Hearing this Kiram felt both horrified that Javier would confess so much to a man who had nearly murdered him and who could still witness against him before a court of law, and at the same time he flushed with pride at Javier’s open, ardent words.
Elezar looked sick and miserable. He clung to Lunaluz and the stallion nuzzled him with familiar affection.
“I swear that I won’t harm you, Javier. I won’t betray you,” Elezar said.
“And Kiram?” Javier demanded.
Elezar scowled at Kiram. His jaw flexed and his lips twitched as if forming a single word was an immense effort.
“Forget it,” Kiram said. “His word doesn’t mean anything.”
“You know nothing of it!” Elezar shouted at Kiram.
“Bullshit,” Kiram snapped back. “I’ve seen enough to know that you’ll forget any oath you swear when you lose your temper. You’re a bad loser, Elezar.”
Despite himself Kiram stepped closer to Elezar. His heart raced as he met Elezar’s angry gaze. Suddenly Kiram felt aware of the weight of the sheathed knife hanging from his belt. Very deliberately, he placed himself between Elezar and his fallen sword. If it came to a fight he would need every advantage he could claim.