Champion of the Gods Box Set

by Andrew Q. Gordon

  Miceral leaned in and kissed him on the lips. “Maybe not, but I do.”

  Before Farrell could feel self-conscious, Miceral grabbed his hand. “C’mon, they’re waiting for us.”

  FARRELL WRAPPED both arms around the thick down pillow and pushed his head deeper. He reached out for Miceral and found only an empty bed. Cracking open an eye, he found himself alone in their room. He debated returning to sleep but decided it must be late or else Miceral wouldn’t have left the bed.

  “Miceral?” Farrell threw back the sheet and swung his legs off the bed. He pulled back the blinds. From the position of the sun, he determined the ninth hour had passed already. Even he never slept past eighth hour.

  “In the sitting room.”

  Extending his arm, Farrell summoned his pants. As he stepped into them, he remembered Miceral’s comment from the night before. Rather than fetch his shirt, he walked over to where it had been left. Once he slipped it over his head, he left their room to find his partner.

  “Why didn’t you wake me?”

  “You’re still recovering. I figured your body would let you know when it was time to get up.”

  The answer shouldn’t have bothered him any more than being allowed to sleep late, but both events left him mildly irritated. He almost said something, but he knew concern motivated Miceral’s actions. That thought made him smile as he walked to find Miceral.

  “I woke up alone while I was in the infirmary. I don’t want to do it anymore.”

  “Does it help that I held you all night?”

  Farrell reached the sitting room and found Miceral in front of the window. “Yes.”

  Miceral smiled and moved toward him. “Good, because I plan to hold you every night from now on.”

  “Every night?” He tried to sound upset, but his smile ruined the effort.

  “Yes.” Miceral wrapped his arms around Farrell’s waist. “And no using magic to keep me away.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He might use it to make Miceral hold him but not to push him away. Farrell stole a quick kiss and twisted so his back was to Miceral’s chest. Pressed against his partner, he always felt safe and happy.

  A loud knock intruded his moment. Farrell wanted to ignore it, but they were guests in Markus’s house, so he opened the door.

  “Princess Penelope. Lady Marisa. What brings you to our quarters?” Farrell bowed politely and motioned for them to come inside.

  “I hope we are not disturbing you,” Penelope said.

  “Not at all.” The words rolled off his tongue smoothly, and even he almost believed his lie. They swept their gazes up and down his hastily thrown-on clothing.

  “Are you sure?” Marisa’s tone suggested she thought something very different from the truth.

  He blushed, which only reinforced what they thought. “No, you’re not. I just woke up. Miceral let me sleep late.” Marisa’s expression made his face burn hotter. “He thought I needed to sleep more to recover my strength.”

  Miceral moved closer and bowed. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”

  “Farrell requested my help.” She turned toward Farrell. “Or did I misunderstand?”

  “No, I asked, but I thought you’d give me some time to read Kel’s books first.”

  The princess rolled her eyes and licked her lips. “You’ve had all morning to read those books. Why do you think we waited this long before we knocked?”

  “Why don’t I take Miceral and Peter and show them around Dreth?” Marisa kissed Penelope on the cheek. “That will give you two time to read Kel’s books.”

  The thought of spending hours alone with the princess didn’t fill him with joy. She reminded him of some of the fussy old professors he’d had while at Heminaltose’s school. Unfortunately, it made sense to work with her, and she had the ability to get him easy access to the royal library if needed.

  He noticed Penelope watching him. “Despite my dislike of sunrises, I assure you I’m not lazy or a procrastinator.”

  “That remains to be seen, but given your talents, I’m inclined to believe you.” She held the stern look for a moment before she smiled. “Of course, I’d work better if we could stop by the kitchen for a snack. Marisa and I had breakfast many hours ago.”

  FARRELL STUFFED two apples wrapped in a white linen napkin into his pocket. From the corner of his eye, he saw Penelope shake her head. He’d quickly learned the gruff exterior didn’t match the person it hid. “Thank you for making sure I had breakfast.”

  “I had thought we’d just have a snack.” She frowned. “Who knew you’d eat enough to feed the king’s guard. The head cook will be miffed at me for weeks now.”

  Given that Penelope ate almost nothing, he knew she hadn’t needed a snack. “I’ll see that I find a suitable way to repay the man for the kindness he and his staff showed me.”

  “It might take a chest of gold, given your appetite,” she said.

  “Lucky for me you warned them I’d be hungry.” Despite her protestations, the cooks all seemed happy to help. “But I’ll talk to Markus about giving them a little something extra for their efforts.”

  “Humph.” She led them to a small room off the dining hall. “I’ve asked Father Gedrin to allow us access to the temple’s library. They’re expecting us.”

  The Door she opened let them out in the chamber for the Order. A pair of novices sitting at the table jumped to their feet as they entered.

  The one closest to them was tall, gangly, with a slightly crooked nose. The cloth of his pale-blue robe gathered in bunches around the plain belt at his waist. When he noticed who they were, he appeared awed by their arrival.

  His companion stood a head shorter but carried himself with more confidence. He nudged his fellow novice, and the pair bowed.

  “On behalf of High Priest Gedrin, be welcome in the Sky Father’s home,” the shorter one said. “It’s an honor to assist you, Chosen.”

  “Still practicing how to be a fawning toady, Meekam?” Penelope peered down her nose at the young man.

  “Fawning? Yes, Aunt Penelope.” Meekam’s playful banter horrified his colleague. “Toady? Never. That’s beneath my dignity as a servant of Honorus.”

  “Humph. Gedrin’s trained you well.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He glanced toward the other novice and reached out to pull him closer. “This incredibly brilliant but still awkward novice is Arnold. Remember his name. He’ll be high priest one day, and I’ll be answering to him.”

  Arnold’s face, accentuated by his close-cropped red hair, turned almost crimson. “It’s . . . it’s . . . it’s an honor . . . honor to . . . to . . . to meet you both.”

  The way Arnold stared at him made Farrell uncomfortable, but he tried to maintain a genuine smile.

  “What’s wrong with you, Arnold?” Meekam put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You’ve met with the king and other important people before. Why are you acting this way?”

  “Don’t you see the hand of the Holy Father?” Arnold gawked at Meekam for a moment before turning back to Farrell. “He’s been touched by Honorus Himself.”

  “Of course he has, child.” Penelope sounded exasperated. “Why do you think people refer to him as ‘Chosen’?”

  “Forgive him,” Meekam said, putting his arm around Arnold’s shoulder. “As I said, he’s brilliant but still a bit naive. If you’ll follow us, we’ll take you to the library.”

  THE DAY passed quickly as they read Kel’s book. Farrell decided to only share Kel’s book on the Eye and the Arm. He kept the other in his pocket to read in private. Penelope sat next to him so they could both read the flowing, curvy script. The necessity made sense, but it made him uncomfortable at first to have someone other than Miceral that close to him. Once they began reading, however, he barely noticed her presence.

  The book proved short and to the point, something Farrell didn’t expect from his ancestor. When they’d turned the last page, he sat back and tapped the leath
er cover.

  “Why do I get the feeling this is a ruse?”

  “What do you mean?” Penelope turned the book over and opened it to the first page. “It seemed direct and concise.”

  “Too much so. Kel rarely did anything that makes it easy for me. Everything important is always hidden somewhere so I have to prove how clever I am by ferreting it out.” He watched her stare at the book and shook his head. “You won’t find the spell. It will be concealed too well.”

  Her sour look told him what she thought of his suggestion. “Thank you for your advice, but I’ll try myself all the same.”

  Farrell kept quiet and let her engage in her fruitless attempt. When she found nothing, she pushed the book slightly forward. “How can you be sure there is more here than we’ve seen?”

  “First, you were able to see all that I could. Kel thought too much of his brilliance to allow any not of his line to read his important thoughts.” Grabbing the book, he flipped through the pages, looking for some sign he’d missed. “But more importantly, this is so basic. There is nothing here we couldn’t find elsewhere.”

  The princess leaned back and crossed her arms. “It told you how to use the Eye of Honorus. That’s something of value.”

  “Value? Yes, it is that, but I’ll wager a chest of gold we can find that information in one or more of these books.” He gestured to the old volumes around them. “And he said he didn’t know how to use the Arm of Khron.”

  “What about the other book?” she asked. “Maybe there’s more there?”

  He shook his head. “No, that is a book of spells.”

  “You don’t think that’s useful?”

  “Of course it’s useful, but that doesn’t negate there is more here than we’ve seen.” He noted her skeptical look and slid the book toward her. “If you were Kel and went to all the effort to create that room and hide those items, would you really waste your time reciting the history of the gifts? We all learned early in our lives how the gods each created a Gift and gave it to Their followers. Honorus’s Eye, Lenore’s Ear, Neldin’s Hand, Arritisa’s Blood, Khron’s Arm, Seritia’s Heart, and Falcron’s Mind. How many times did the priests and priestesses talk about these wondrous gifts? How many times did we as kids dream about possessing one and benefiting from its power? Kel recounting that would be like telling me the history of Yar-del. It’s unnecessary.”

  Penelope chewed her top lip, nodding occasionally. Finally, she put her hand on the book and looked up. “Let’s say you’re right. How do we find what’s hidden?”

  “I’m not sure.” He shrugged when she rolled her eyes. “Please, do you have any brilliant ideas to share?”

  “No, but it’s your suggestion that something is hidden, not mine.”

  He noted her sarcasm and frowned. “You could at least try to be helpful.”

  “Fine.” She twisted her chair so she sat face-to-face with him. “Let’s start with what we know. Kel wrote this very basic book and hid it with the Eye and Arm. He created a secret room with great effort to hide both and located said room, books, and trinkets in the old Temple of Honorus.”

  “Hmm, you’re right.” Farrell craned his neck to scan the rest of the large library. “He did.”

  “Did what?”

  “Huh?” He snapped out of his thoughts “Oh, I meant you’re right, he did pick this place on purpose.”

  Penelope lifted her hands almost to her head but stopped them with a jerk. Slowly she lowered them back to the table. “And you know that how?”

  “Of all the things you mentioned, the only thing he could control was the place—well, the books, too, but that is what we’re talking about.” Sensing her confusion, he waved his hand absently. “Think of it like this. Kel needed to include the Gifts and the books, so those two had to be included. He needed to create a room and hide it to safeguard the gifts. But he could have sited that room anywhere.”

  “Not if he wanted the Order to guard it.”

  “No, that’s not accurate. The Order only met occasionally. The temple guarded the room, even if they didn’t know it. Besides, I don’t think Kel worried about having someone protect the room. He built it in this busy temple without anyone noticing. If he’d been worried about security, he’d have just hidden it entirely.”

  Penelope nodded. “I’m not convinced you’re correct, but I can’t rule out your theory, either. Unfortunately, even if we knew for certain his choice of location was significant, we don’t know why. This temple is vast. How will you find the reason he wanted you here?”

  “The Eye.” He reached into his pocket for the leather pouch.

  “Excuse me?”

  “According to Kel, not even the mightiest wizard could hide something from the Eye. If Kel hid something in the temple, the Eye can find it.”

  “I confess, I forgot about the Eye, but do you know how to use it?”

  “No and yes. Kel said to use the Eye, I need to concentrate and ask it to show me what I want to see.” As he slid the blue stone from the bag, he marveled at what he held. How many people—himself included—dreamed of holding a Gift of the Gods? He had not one, but two. “But I’ve not tried to use it yet.”

  “How can you ask it to show something when you don’t know what you’re looking for?”

  “The trick, I suppose, is making sure to ask the right question.”

  “No.” Her word, more a command, caused him to flinch. “This isn’t some game where you can test your theory or hope you get it right. What if doing it wrong causes permanent damage to you?”

  “It won’t.” When Penelope started to speak, Farrell held up his hand. “Let me finish.”

  He almost laughed at the glare he got in return. As both a prince and a grand master, he outranked her on either side. “Thank you. As I was saying, Kel would have warned me if using the Eye would pose a danger—”

  “That’s your assurance?” Her voice rose several octaves and a few decibels. “You’re going to leap into the unknown with nothing more than the hope your distant ancestor would remember to warn you about the dangers of using one of the most powerful objects in creation?”

  “Princess, I’m Honorus’s Chosen as well as the Champion of the Six.” His anger scrubbed any boastfulness from his words. “Do you really think His Gift would hurt me?”

  “In all likelihood, no.” Penelope’s tone lost its sharp edge. “But a bit of caution would be prudent.”

  “What would you suggest?” He caught himself bordering on sarcastic and took a deep breath. “You are my bit of caution. Having you here, to observe and act if needed, is about the only safeguard I could find that would be of any use.”

  “You could search for more information.”

  “Kel said he scoured the world for information to add to his book. And he had the Eye to help him. It is unlikely we’ll find any better answers in this library than he did.” Even she had to recognize that of all the places, this library would likely have been Kel’s first and primary source of information.

  The silence dragged on long enough that Farrell began to regret asking for her help. Finally, Penelope exhaled. “You make valid points. What do you need from me?”

  “I don’t exactly know yet. If everything works, you can help me decipher what we find. If not . . .” He shrugged. “Just be alert in case I get in trouble, I guess.”

  “How? Never mind. Let’s get started.”

  Lacking any firm idea of what he should do, he raised the Eye and stared into the blue gem. Its flawless surface reflected the light from the wizard’s globes in the room. He ignored the face he saw and focused on the deep azure color. “Show me what Kel left for me.”

  Farrell’s vision blurred, and he felt a moment of disorientation. An instant later, his view zoomed in on a book on the shelf across from them.

  The binding of the book glowed pale blue. He held out his hand and summoned an old, well-oiled, leather-bound book.

  When the book settled on the table, Penelope reached ou
t to grab it. A spark caused her to gasp and pull back her hand. Farrell cautiously touched the leather cover. When nothing happened, he turned to the first page.

  Penelope shook her hand with a rueful laugh. “Clearly the book is meant for you alone.”

  She had a power burn on two of her fingers and a small part of her palm. Farrell reached for her hand. “Let me see that.”

  She used her uninjured hand to wave him off. “It is nothing.”

  “My mother was one of the most powerful wizard-healers anyone could remember. I inherited a bit of her talent.” Without waiting for her to agree, he placed his hand over her damaged skin and reached out with his healing talent.

  The burns were minor, but it amazed him how the attack penetrated Penelope’s strong personal shields. With a small effort, he healed the burn, and the mark evaporated with a twinkle of light.

  “Thank you,” she said. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

  “One or two, but most of those I only show to Miceral.” He winked, but instead of the blush he’d expected, he got a deep laugh.

  “Stop this foolishness, you wicked child. I’m old enough to be your grandmother.” Penelope had relaxed more than she had at any time since they’d arrived. “Open the book and let us look for our answers.”

  “At once, my lady, at once.” Penelope sat by his shoulder again, and they quietly thumbed through the pages. With each new page, Farrell’s anxiety grew. He turned the sheets faster, until Penelope stayed his hand.

  “Patience. What’s here will still be here if we take our time and read each page.” Despite her words, he detected a note of impatience as well.

  He continued at a slightly slower pace until they reached the end of the book. Flipping it back to the front, he resisted the urge to send it back to its place on the shelf. “There is nothing more here than a history of the Gifts.”

  “Are you certain that is the book the Eye showed you?”

  He nodded. “My vision was filled with just this book, and it was surrounded by a pale blue nimbus.”

  “I didn’t see that.”

  “I suspect if I hadn’t been seeing what the Eye meant for me to see, I wouldn’t have either. But I’m sure this is the right book.”