Heretic Spellblade 3

by Robertson, K. D.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Nathan. I realize you forget sometimes, but we think of ourselves as the thinkers of our little band. Even you call me your strategist, and Seraph runs your growing duchy.”

  “Anna’s duchy.”

  “I know what I said.” Narime’s grin made her look truly foxlike, but it slipped a moment later. “You’re so far ahead of us. I understand it’s difficult for you to just dump a decade of knowledge on us, but you implicitly catch things that we need to ponder for hours. Like the Falmir connection. You wormed at that ever since you heard about it, and it turns out you were right.”

  He shrugged. “Falmir’s a special case.”

  “What about the confrontation with the Council? You slapped them in the face with your knowledge of their self-destruct failsafe. They wouldn’t even talk to you at first, but you crashed right through their attempt. To say nothing of how you handled the entire situation,” Narime grimaced. “It made me realize I’m only a Champion. I’m used to fighting. You’re a political animal, Nathan. You know when and how to pick your fights.”

  “I’m still only a soldier,” he grumped.

  “Yes, that’s why they all call you lord now,” she said sarcastically. “I really hate to say this, but Seraph is right. You are becoming like Torneus. The difference is motivation. From what you told me, he cared about his nation. Your goals are much grander.”

  He remained silent, staring at the crackling fire in their camp. Narime’s hand clasped his, and her head settled into the crook of his neck. Her ears twitched, tickling him.

  Reaching blindly, Nathan found one of her tails and gave it a good comb with his hand. Narime shuddered, a gasp escaping her.

  “Not here,” she murmured.

  Ciana stared at them, her cheeks glowing, and Nathan relented.

  “Do you still support me? After all of this?” he asked Narime, unsure if he wanted the answer.

  Her tails curled around him. One touched his cheek.

  “Silly,” she said, her blue eyes curving as she looked up at him. “I’m not judging you. It’s difficult to learn that some of these things, particularly as they go against what I was taught for centuries. But I trust you. You haven’t given me a reason not to.”

  “Despite the Messengers?”

  “Like I said, you haven’t given me a reason not to trust you.” Her hand touched his cheek. “Remember that, Nathan. Maybe not everyone will understand, but we see you almost every day. I chose to be with you.”

  “I thought you said I made you my mate,” he joked.

  “It can be both.”

  The next day, he traveled with Astra again. Her mood appeared to have worsened. She ate breakfast in near silence.

  Close to noon, she suddenly said, “Why?”

  Nathan looked down at her. She didn’t elaborate.

  “Words,” he said reflexively.

  Astra looked up at him, her long, pointed ears dropping as her brow furrowed in confusion.

  “You need to use more words,” he said, realizing he had fallen into an old habit. “Why what?”

  She nodded and licked her lips. “Why did they kick me out?”

  Of course.

  “You missed the politics, didn’t you?” he asked.

  The only response was a stare.

  “They’re not kicking you out, Astra. The Council is caught in a web of intrigue, just like me,” he explained. “Right now, they have 2 Bastions left. Enough to protect both portals. But they can’t trust those Bastions with you. You did notice the assassination attempt, right?”

  She blinked. “Useless.”

  “Sure, but they tried it. The Council is ignoring it because they can’t simply execute all of their Bastions at once, but everybody saw what happened. The moment you killed your Bastion, the remaining Champions were ready to pounce. It was a layered plan. Betray the Empire. Failing that, they’d remove the Council in a coup. If I intervened, they’d probably just kill me with the army of Champions they had. If you did, you’d be powerless, and they’d kill you.”

  Of course, Astra didn’t need to kill her Bastion. They might have simply guessed what she might have done.

  Whatever the case, the plan executed by the traitors in the Spire was a good one. Lots of contingencies rolled into each other, and it only failed because Astra remained immortal after losing her power.

  Every result was a victory. Without Astra, there’d be no one to protect the Council next time.

  “Who?” Astra asked.

  “Who is responsible?”

  “Yes.”

  Nathan chuckled. “If we knew that, they’d be dead already. Torneus fingered two people—one is dead, and the other retired before the cascade. What happened to him, by the way?”

  “He fell.”

  Two words. Nathan took that as an improvement.

  “As in, off the Jormun Spire?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Was that connected to the trial?”

  Again, she nodded.

  Damn. The Council was one step ahead. They had already arranged for a fall guy—literally. The trial had been put off indefinitely while the Council handled the fallout of the coup attempt, but they had taken action earlier. With two Bastions missing, they could easily calm the public with rumors about who was really responsible for the cascade.

  “That’s the problem.” Nathan rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Torneus’s contacts are now dead. Nurevia worked with Council functionaries, rather than the Bastions. But we know the other Bastions are in on it, but not how.”

  “Kill them.” Astra’s eyes hardened.

  “What if their replacements are also traitors? What if some members of the Council are part of the conspiracy?” Nathan sighed. “This is why I hate politics. I know enough to avoid causing trouble at the wrong times, but I can’t magically sever the spiderwebs that politicians weave. Torneus didn’t know anything about the Emperor’s involvement, either.”

  Everything came back to politics. The Emperor wanted to prevent the Nationalists from seizing power, and Nathan knew he had connections in the Spires. The majority of the Council were strongly supportive of the Empire, despite the isolationist approach of the Spires.

  Falmir wanted to expand its territory. That, too, was connected to maintaining power. Falmir’s king was embedded in as much turmoil as the Emperor. To achieve their aims, Falmir had worked with the Federation. Torneus had said he was scared of a resurgent Empire trying to conquer Doumahr.

  Falmir had caused everything, but the Spires were the nexus. Nathan doubted Falmir had intended to cause the end of the world—Seraph had been responsible for the plan to destabilize the leylines, after all. But everyone had met in the Spires, and they had been willing to cause a cascade and kill a trigem Champion for their goals.

  Something clicked in Nathan’s head.

  “Fuck,” he said, rising to his feet. His head slammed against the roof. “Fuck.”

  Astra stared at him in confusion.

  He sat back down, eyes wide.

  Slowly, Nathan lined up the pieces in his head.

  A coup against the ruling family in the Empire. The threat of a massive demonic invasion from the Houkeem Desert. A repeat of the Empire collapsing and its foes carving it up. The Spires either collapsing or self-destructing.

  Despite everything he had done, history still tried to repeat itself. This time, it was throwing everything at Nathan in an attempt to overwhelm him.

  Or, more accurately, Nathan hadn’t identified the source of the problem. Kadria felt that this was all caused by her boss. But if Ifrit was to be believed, then everything traced back to Falmir. Were they the true enemy of Doumahr? Were Falmir linked to everything in his world as well?

  Unsettled, Nathan leaned back in his seat. Astra poked him as she slowly returned to life.

  Once he got back, he knew what he needed to prepare for. An attempt by his enemies to bring down all of Doumahr at once.

  Chapter 25

  The castl
e was in a panic when he returned. A company of knights rode out to greet their carriages, Nathan’s crest hanging over their arms. Riders split off, racing back to Castle Forselburg. Bells rang out.

  For a few brief minutes, Nathan thought that civil war had broken out. He genuinely didn’t know what was going on.

  But the knights calmed down once they confirmed he was safe. The chaos died down. Nathan found himself in Narime’s office with a dozen heavily armed bodyguards. The captain of the castle glowered at him. She had been the one to insist on accompanying him to the Spires.

  “I was out of contact for a few days,” he said in disbelief.

  “You never checked in once you arrived there. We couldn’t reach you through the agreed channels, and Princess Alice said you didn’t respond to her,” the knight said, pouting at him.

  Oh, damn. He had left the mirror behind in his rush. It hadn’t occurred to him that Alice might try to contact him and panic when he didn’t respond.

  “Didn’t anyone check my bedroom for my mirror?” he asked.

  The knights stared at him in collective confusion, then stared at Fei, who attempted to look innocent.

  “Fei, don’t ban everyone from entering my room.” Nathan rubbed the bridge of his nose.

  Sen and Sunstorm should probably have found the mirror, so it wasn’t entirely Fei’s fault.

  Realizing that settling everybody down was his highest priority, he returned to Gharrick Pass. Everyone appeared far less excited here. Despite that, he contacted Anna and the others, and let them know he was okay. Afterward, he summoned them to his fortress and explained what had happened.

  “Can we really rely on the Spires?” Alice asked through the mirror after he finished his explanation.

  She was the only person who hadn’t come in person. Even Vera had made it, as she had traveled to Tartus upon hearing that Nathan had gone missing. Traveling from Aleich to Gharrick Pass still took days.

  “For now, we have to,” he said. “If civil war breaks out, there isn’t anybody else who can reinforce the Houkeem Desert. In order to keep them there, we need to protect the Spires. We’re tied to them.”

  “Do you think that’s intentional?”

  “Yes. The moment I challenged them, they rewrote the deal. I won’t pretend to know what politics happened behind the scenes, but somebody wants to work with us. For now, we have a reason to work with them.”

  “And her?” Vera snuck in from where she sat in the corner of the room. Her eyes narrowed at Astra.

  The dark elf in question ignored everyone, instead choosing to spreadeagle herself on Nathan’s bed. More than a few looks had been thrown at her in envy or annoyance.

  “Make eyes at her all you want, but you won’t get her,” Nathan said with a laugh.

  “Possessive, aren’t you?” But Vera was smiling.

  “Maybe. But the reality is that many Bastions can’t handle a trigem. It requires excellent control of your binding stones. If all it took was inserting a third gem, the world would be flooding with nation-ending warriors.” He shrugged at the looks he received. “And reactivating a trigem is even harder.”

  Vera raised an eyebrow at him. “And you, with all of two years’ experience, can do it, when even Leopold doesn’t have a trigem?”

  All eyes turned to him. He frowned.

  The redheaded sorceress caught on instantly. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the secret you’re all in on. You’ve always known way too much. Does everybody know why, but I’m left out?”

  Her eyes pierced him, but he saw the hurt in them.

  “Yes,” he said, and she recoiled. “You’re being left out for the safety of your training. I’ll tell you once it’s finished.”

  “Safety?” she repeated.

  “Dangerous secrets,” Astra mumbled. “Binding stones.”

  Nathan’s eyes widened, and he stared at her.

  “Uh, I didn’t understand a word she said,” Sen said, a frazzled smile on her face. “I mean, I did, but not the meaning.”

  “She’s met Omria. Unlike us, she knows things even Nathan doesn’t.” Seraph grimaced.

  “If she’s happy with Nathan despite that, it only confirms that we’ve made the right decision to stand by him,” Narime said, glaring at everybody else as her tails rose up.

  “Goddess, I feel so left out.” Vera ran a hand through her hair.

  Nathan sighed. “I need you to become comfortable with the binding stones, the portals, and the magic involved with them. You’re sharp. Too sharp, even. If I tell you everything, you might connect some dots and that will affect your ability to be a Bastion. Your ability to manipulate reality using the binding stone and form tethers is heavily reliant on your mental state. A lot of what separates Bastions is their mind, not their body or their magical ability.”

  Once again, everybody stared at him.

  “Wait, does that mean the reason you’re able to rebuild the castle so easily and do so much crazy stuff is because you’re so confident and cool?” Sen blurted out, eyes wide.

  “Duh,” Sunstorm said, rolling her eyes. “Nathan’s always convinced that his path is right. Can you manipulate reality without conviction?”

  The assassin grinned at him, and he tried not to shiver.

  On the other side of the mirror, Alice interrupted them. “This is interesting—and I mean it—but Astra does bring political complications. I’m going to prevent word from spreading about her. I doubt our allies in the Spires want anyone to know she’s missing. And our enemies will become more motivated if they realize Nathan now has a trigem Champion.”

  “Everybody else will be thrilled,” Anna added with a smirk. “This puts him on par with Maylis even. A trigem, three duogems, a monogem, plus Sen and Ciana. And that’s only going to rapidly increase.”

  More was discussed, but the meeting largely concerned nitty-gritty details. Nathan had lost less than a couple of weeks, rather than the month-plus he had expected. That allowed him to get back to work rather easily.

  Fall was here, and with it came the final harvest. Taxes needed to be collected, construction wrapped up, accounts finalized, and preparations made for winter. Many of Nathan’s projects could continue despite the cooling weather, but only if the right steps were made. People didn’t stop traveling due to the cold.

  But Gharrick Pass would ice over. The snowfall made transporting heavy loads riskier, and most merchants traveled less and lighter. Risk of illness rose, which meant the healers and mages in the communities would be busy. In the cities, food supplies needed to be assured. Especially given the risk that civil war might break out the moment spring arrived.

  Nathan didn’t need enough food to supply his armies and builders for winter. He needed enough for a campaign.

  Seraph threw herself back into her work, but Nathan kept her from going too crazy this time. While they’d been away, the paperwork and reports had still been filed. Kuda, Anna, and her brother had done their jobs well. New nobles and administrators began to step into their roles as Anna caught up. Many of the officers in Nathan’s army knew enough about logistics that they stopped asking for so much help.

  Paperwork still built up, but Nathan used it as an opportunity to train clerks. His reputation helped him here. Alice put him in touch with a noble in Aleich, who advertised on his behalf. Several highly experienced people applied, including branch managers of trading companies, along with the usual mass of ordinary applicants.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t fill your offices with more fluffy beastkin,” Anna joked one night.

  Now that the gateway was active in Castle Tartus, she visited him often. Tonight was different, as he checked in with Alice using the mirror. Nathan needed to remain informed regarding politics.

  “I have enough of them already,” Nathan replied as he activated the mirror. “Besides, very few beastkin have the necessary experience. A few made it through, but Seraph needs assistance now, not in a few years after we train up the beastkin.”<
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  “But you are starting,” Anna pointed out.

  “Starting what?” Alice asked, appearing in the mirror.

  “Yes, I’m using some extra clerks to train beastkin in how to manage paperwork, handle bureaucracy, and do math without their fingers,” Nathan said, gesturing to Alice to wait. She pouted at him. “It’s inexpensive, and we’ll need more of them later.”

  “For when you take over Doumahr?” Anna grinned.

  “For when the mages finish their current research. Harrum thinks he’s close.” Nathan looked at Alice and brought her into the conversation. “I’ve asked the mages to prepare a tool that can provide energy readings of portals. Publicly, this will be based on technology from the Spires. But we’ll need analysts who can use the tool and understand the portals.”

  Alice frowned. “Doesn’t that mean teaching more people about them?”

  “Yes. Hence why it’s a good idea to have extra clerks. Many of those I’ve hired won’t be interested in a military job, but the beastkin will be.” Nathan shrugged. “Once we have trained analysts, it will be easier to hire and train from the general populace.”

  “I see. You won’t like my news,” Alice said, running a hand through her blonde hair. If Nathan didn’t know better, he’d suspect she had gotten out of the shower before contacting him.

  “Tharban?” he asked.

  “Yes. The news about the Spires losing a Bastion and Astra somehow leaked, as has the fact they’ve entered lockdown again,” she explained. “Tharban spun it well, and he’s on his way to the Houkeem Desert.”

  “The dark elves aren’t going anywhere.”

  “No, but he made enough noise that people think they might.”

  Nathan clicked his tongue. “Damn. Even after all that, he managed to salvage it. We’ll need to talk to Terrius and the other dukes. I know you’re busy, but—”

  “Understood,” Alice said.

  He blinked and she rolled her eyes.

  “I’m busy, Nathan, but talking to the dukes is part of my duties while I support Grandpa.” Her expression darkened for a moment. “You should visit him, by the way.”

  Nathan didn’t like the sound of that.