Heretic Spellblade

by K D Robertson

  “Exactly. And the Messenger behind this portal definitely noticed.” Kadria scowled. “And those twins aren’t the sort I wanted you to attract. They’re the slow burn type. I figured you’d have a year or two before they took an interest in you, then you could flirt for a while before they took you seriously. By which point I could deal with them.”

  “You know them?”

  “Unfortunately.” She poked her horns, which had turned back to their typical shade of creamy white. “Same breed of Messenger.” She prodded his crotch with her foot. “In a few ways. Although they don’t have my background, and my objective differs from theirs.”

  Nathan left the void room shortly afterward, with a mumbling from Kadria about how she’d think of some way to help deal with the other Messengers.

  She offered no help for his current predicament and instead gave him a look that suggested he needed to dig his own way out.

  As much as he wanted to complain, knowing that he had inadvertently attracted the attention of a pair of Messengers bothered him. He welcomed Kadria’s help, even if she would be busy for a while.

  It ate at him that he didn’t question help from a Messenger. Had he really fallen so far that he accepted Kadria’s presence in his life? Part of him even felt unhappy that she hadn’t pulled down his pants when he had visited.

  Nathan shook off his discomfort and left his office. He stopped by a window. The night was moonless and overcast. He couldn’t see anything outside, other than the lamps on the walls and lights carried by patrolling guards.

  The civilian inhabitants of the fortress surely knew something was wrong. First the soldiers had all piled into the keep, which was a surefire sign of a demonic invasion. Then the men had all come out and cracked open barrels of ale and wine.

  At some point after the commotion had started, the tavern opened. People who couldn’t sleep, or spouses worried about their significant other in the guards had gathered to wait there. Then the soldiers joined them. The celebrations were ongoing, and Nathan could hear their raucous cheering.

  But some guards patrolled the walls, and more than a few had noticed that the scouts were busy. Keen-eyed officers ushered their troops into the barracks and began closing up the kegs. Only a few had been briefed, but word spread fast. All the officers would learn the full details when their companies were back in the barracks.

  Nathan wasn’t too concerned about the celebrations. He doubted he would need his soldiers at the crack of dawn, so any hangovers could be dealt with.

  Although he had to remind himself that these soldiers were relatively green. He was used to men and women who could win a battle, knock back their booze into the early hours of the morning, have a quick nap, and then fight another battle as soon as they woke up.

  Kadria was right: this timeline had yet to turn into a pit of despair and destruction. The soldiers had yet to train themselves into boozy warriors. Maybe they wouldn’t need to.

  Nathan stepped away from the window and made his way downstairs. Few guards patrolled the keep at this time. Those that did saluted him as he passed them.

  Eventually, he spotted who he was looking for. Anna and Vera stood outside of one of the receiving rooms.

  “We’ve known each other for years. Once Leopold is here—” Anna tried to say.

  “If Leopold comes here,” Vera interrupted. “I appreciate your concern, Anna, but I lost my tower due to my own failings. And given Leopold’s general inaction, I doubt he’ll be saving me from my own missteps anytime soon.”

  “Don’t say that, Vera. Vera!” Anna shouted after the retreating sorceress. She let out a huff when Vera continued to walk away in the opposite direction that Nathan came from.

  “I’m assuming she’s taking the loss of her tower hard,” Nathan muttered.

  Anna turned to face him and curtsied. “Bastion Nathan. My deepest thanks for providing me safe harbor during this time of crisis.”

  Nathan stared at her.

  She rolled her eyes. “Goddess, you’re really not one for formalities, are you? The least I can do is thank you for protecting me. From the sounds of it, the Federation means business.”

  “They do. They have a Champion whose gem ability allows her to specialize in assassination,” Nathan said. He nodded in the direction that Vera had retreated. “So, she’s taking it hard?”

  “Why don’t we take a seat and have some tea?” Anna suggested and walked into the nearby room. “I think talking about Vera is the least we need to cover. I hear you used so much magic that you nearly collapsed?”

  Nathan followed her inside. Hopefully, this turned out to be a friendly chat, and not an interrogation.

  Anna straightened out her skirt before sitting down. Her clothes were much simpler than normal, consisting of a frilly collared shirt, a black pleated skirt, and stockings. No jewelry and minimal sign of makeup. Not that Anna needed much.

  Then again, it was past midnight and Nathan had sent a message to Anna to travel here as quickly as possible. If she had arrived in her nightgown, he wouldn’t have batted an eye. Instead, she had put in at least some effort to appear like a countess.

  Two empty cups sat on the table in the middle of the room. Like most of the receiving rooms in the fortress, this one consisted of several plush sofa chairs around a single coffee table. This particular coffee table had the universal emblem of the Watcher Omria engraved into the glass. In the corner sat a long table where coffee and snacks could be prepared.

  Kuda stepped out from that corner with two fresh cups of coffee, then whisked away the empty ones.

  “Thank you, Kuda,” Anna said with a smile. She fixed Nathan with a glare. “I’m regretting lending him to you. I haven’t had a good coffee since he left.”

  “You were here not that long ago,” Nathan replied.

  “Then I haven’t had a good coffee in my manor since he left,” Anna corrected. “Maybe I should move in.”

  “Right now, you don’t have a choice, so feel free to assess your new lodgings against your manor,” Nathan said drily.

  Anna shot him a sardonic smile. He didn’t grace it with a response and instead sipped his coffee.

  After a few moments, Anna raised the topic from earlier, “Yes, Vera is upset over her tower. More than that, she’s upset that she defended it alone. No reinforcements from the Empire. Nothing from Leopold. Nothing from me.” Anna grimaced. “You had demons to deal with, so you get a pass. But I don’t, even though most of my private army is partying outside and calling themselves demon slayers.”

  Suppressing a sigh, Anna drained her cup and asked for another. Kuda was already there and exchanged the cups. A slice of chocolate cake appeared from somewhere as well. Nathan eyed the beastkin, wondering where he hid the dessert. The table behind Kuda was bare, besides a coffee percolator powered by a built-in fire enchantment and a handful of empty cups and plates.

  “I don’t blame her for being upset, but I don’t see it being productive,” Anna said.

  “Give her time,” Nathan said. “I pulled her out of the fire. She’s still processing things.”

  “I would, if we had time.” Anna bit her lip. “And if you didn’t need her. I’m supposed to be the countess who supports you, but the distinct impression I get from my officers is that…” she trailed off, her eyes wandering to a corner of the room.

  Nathan waited patiently for her to finish her thought, or for her to change the subject.

  Anna sighed. “I find it difficult to believe that I am, in any way, your superior. My officers told me how the battle played out. They stood behind a wall, unable to see the enemy, and fired catapult shot after catapult shot into the distance. By contrast, you and your Champions flooded the portal, defended a breach in the wall, created a tornado made of fire, and still found time to save Vera.”

  “That’s normal in demonic invasions. There’s a reason trigem Champions become legends,” Nathan said. “The gap between ordinary humans and Champions is significant.”
/>   “Of course. But where does that leave me?” Anna raised an eyebrow. “I can gain the wealth and power that my father felt our family deserved, but all I’m doing to earn it is asking you nicely. I felt that my agreement with Vera would help you, as she would assist you, but she’s been less than cooperative.”

  “You asked for my help precisely because she wasn’t cooperative,” Nathan pointed out. “Besides, she did help me out.”

  “And now you’ve sacrificed a lot to save her. Probably more than she’ll ever give you in return.” Anna fixed him with her gaze. “Don’t lie to me. The soldiers said that Fei practically had to carry you up to the wall. Vera even admitted you couldn’t fight when you helped her. What happens if the Federation arrives here in the morning?”

  Nathan finished his cup and placed it on the table. Unlike with Anna’s coffee, Kuda didn’t instantly whisk his away for a refill.

  “Let’s lay this on the table then,” Nathan said, his tone serious. “First, the Federation probably won’t march on this fortress straight away. They have no way of knowing that we’ve been seriously weakened by the demonic invasion. What they do know is that we showed up in Vera’s tower despite that invasion. A normal Bastion would assume that means I crushed the invasion without any real difficulty and play it cautiously.”

  Anna nodded, her eyes bright and expression focused.

  Nathan continued while raising two fingers, “Second, even if they do show up, the fortress is well fortified. The barrier will prevent any siege weapons or Champions from knocking down the walls easily. The ditches, walls, and your soldiers—yes, that means you are helping—can keep any non-magical assailants at bay.”

  Raising a third finger, he said, “Third, it won’t take long to recover my power. I’ll have enough to top Fei up in the morning. Once Vera is feeling better, she can help defend. Most of my summons survived the demonic invasion, so I don’t need to waste power recreating them. And although Sen’s tired, she should be fine in the morning. Even I’ll be able to fight. The binding stone is low on power, but I can use my own sorcery.”

  Anna took a bite of her cake while the explanation soaked in, her gaze wandering. Kuda placed another cup of coffee in front of Nathan. Noticeably, there was no cake for him.

  “Sen’s the name of the bandit girl you took in, right?” Anna asked.

  “You met her last time you were here,” Nathan said.

  “Mmm,” Anna said. She sipped her coffee. “I have two questions about that. More, really, but two for now.”

  Nathan had expected this to come at some point.

  “If she had the power to use such powerful magic before, why didn’t she use it against you? Or against me?” Anna frowned. “You seemed to capture her far too easily, and I don’t remember Vera mentioning anything about any tornadoes of flame.”

  Nathan coughed. “Actually, Sen tried to cast that spell both times we met her.”

  “What?”

  “Yes. Fortunately, a sixth rank spell takes too long to cast in a normal battle to be usable without proper support, so she never succeeded. But she tried,” Nathan explained.

  Anna stared at him, her cup frozen in front of her lips. “You mean when you fought her in front of Trantia the day after you arrived, she—”

  Nathan nodded.

  Slowly, Anna placed her cup on the table. It shook as she let it go, and Anna quickly placed her hands together in her lap. Kuda’s eyes narrowed, and his tail moved for the first time since Nathan had met him.

  “I believe I owe you an additional thank you, Bastion,” Anna said, her voice flat.

  “I just—”

  “Do not blow this off,” Anna snapped. She froze, closed her eyes, and schooled her expression. “Thank you for preventing Trantia from being turned into an ashen wasteland. The description of the power of her spell made a strong impression on my officers. They believed that she must have been holding back as a bandit.” Anna rubbed her face. “Goddess, how did you even recruit her? And don’t say it’s due to your skill in bed.”

  Nathan loudly slurped his coffee. This earned him a glare, and he grinned at Anna.

  “Fine, keep your secrets,” she muttered. “Although I can’t believe both she and Jafeila are both interested in you. They’ll tear you apart once they find out.”

  “You think they don’t know?” Nathan laughed.

  “This is funny to you?” Anna asked incredulously.

  Nathan blinked, realizing she was serious. And even a little angry. He glanced at Kuda, who shook his head.

  “You don’t know much about beastkin, do you?” Nathan said.

  “Don’t patronize me.”

  “I’m not. But I’m used to people at least knowing that beastkin are polyamorous,” Nathan explained.

  Anna looked at him blankly, then she turned her head to face Kuda and raised a questioning eyebrow.

  Kuda coughed. “It means that we willing to share our partners. In both the sexual and romantic senses of the word, mistress.”

  “Sexual,” Anna repeated.

  “Yes. Different races of beastkin have different preferences, but it is a common trait across our entire species,” Kuda explained. “Hence young Jafeila’s willingness to pursue Bastion Nathan, even though he is romantically and sexually involved with Sen.”

  Anna faced Nathan again, her cheeks flushed. “I don’t remember Sen being a beastkin.”

  “There’s a concept for this sort of thing happening with Bastions,” Nathan said, feeling sheepish. “The beastkin don’t care about the feelings of the humans. This means the human Champions get caught up in the flow of the beastkin Champions.”

  This was exactly what happened between Nathan and Vala. Vala had been his first Champion in Falmir, and his bond with her had been strong.

  Except the beastkin he picked up in the ruins of the Empire didn’t really care. They saw Nathan as a strong mate, their Bastion, and ripe for sharing. Vala could push back, but the beastkin didn’t play along.

  Or even if they did, something invariably happened that broke everything down. The animalistic traits of the beastkin caused some unique sexual problems at times. Vala eventually gave up and let the beastkin join her, and that opened the floodgates.

  “I don’t remember reading anything like this,” Anna mumbled. “And a lot of legendary Bastions don’t sleep with all of their Champions like Leopold does.”

  “The Empire has the largest proportion of beastkin Champions of any nation. It comes with the territory,” Nathan said.

  “You could say no?” Anna suggested.

  Nathan loudly slurped his coffee and ignored Anna’s glare.

  “Fine,” she said, and stood up. Then she mumbled, “Something to keep in mind for the future, I suppose.”

  “Did you say something?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes, but you don’t need to worry about it for now.” Anna smiled. “Good night, Nathan. I suppose I’ll see you in the morning. Or the afternoon, if nobody invades. I wouldn’t mind some additional sleep.”

  Kuda looked unimpressed at the idea of Anna sleeping in until the afternoon. Nathan got the distinct impression that Anna’s dream of staying in bed would not come to fruition.

  With this conversation over, Nathan slipped away. He made his way to his bedroom. The hallways were silent. Everybody was asleep, save for a few patrolling guards. The celebration outside had ended. Despite all of this, Nathan felt wide awake.

  The knowledge of an impending battle pumped adrenaline through his body. His nerves seared his body like fire, and it took everything he had to move calmly.

  Maybe this was also a side-effect of using too much magic. Nathan usually kept his calm better, but he felt on edge. His years of experience didn’t help him tonight.

  He pushed open the door to his room.

  “Oh, you’re finally back,” Fei chirped from his bed.

  Chapter 27

  Fei lay on top of Nathan’s bed, her arms wrapped around his pillow. Her body was pr
essed into the soft fabric, hiding much of her body. He noticed that her hair was messy, probably because she had been rubbing her face against his pillow.

  He also noticed that she was naked save for one of his jackets. Her bushy tail was the only thing hiding the tantalizing curves of her bare ass. Fei held as much attraction to him now as she had in his timeline.

  “You realize I have to sleep on that, right?” Nathan said, pointing at his bed.

  Fei rubbed her face against his pillow and wiggled her entire body from side to side. “All the more reason for me to do this.”

  The room smelled more of Fei than Nathan at this point. How long had she been in here, he wondered. Her uniform was strewn across the floor, and his used clothes hamper had been rifled through.

  “Bad kitten,” Nathan said as he sat on the edge of the bed.

  He scratched behind Fei’s cat ears. She mewled, arching her back. Her eyes curved as she looked up at him and grinned.

  “You seem to like it when I’m bad,” Fei purred.

  The beastkin shifted her body to the side so that she was pressing her bare legs against him. Her heat poured into him. She licked her lips and rubbed her tail against his back.

  Nathan remembered her words from before the battle and realized that Fei was following through. Her arousal was practically dripping onto the bed. She had proven herself and wanted to claim her prize.

  “Aren’t you tired after the battle?” Nathan asked gently. He ruffled her hair.

  Fei shook her head. “I’m fine. And I know you are too.” She grinned.

  Rather than fine, Nathan would describe Fei as running on fumes. Her eyes were lidded and flickered shut every few seconds. Her ears twitched constantly. She purred incessantly, but her tail rubbed against his back at inconsistent intervals.

  She was tired, but knew what she wanted.

  “You like it here?” Nathan asked.

  “Mmm,” Fei mumbled. “It’s so much nicer than my village. I get more food, and it’s far better. You’re nicer than the meisters ever were and let me decide what I want to do. I never thought I’d actually become a Champion. A lot of the other beastkin taken into the academy were sent back to their villages. I was told that most Champions-in-training never receive an enhancement.”