by J D Franx
Knowing what came next, his hands shook uncontrollably. His stomach did a cold flip, and Tanner had to clench his scrawny butt cheeks together to avoid a recurrence of the affliction that had led to his nickname.
"You or her, Shitter?" Sonny asked, his belt already halfway off.
Well-aware of how much worse it would be for Kenna, Tanner never hesitated. A lot more than Sonny's belt would come off if Kenna were to pay the price for disobedience, and he would never let that happen to her, again. Broken bones and bruises healed, but a defiled body and broken soul would never mend.
"Me. Do me," Tanner said, as Sonny's belt slid free from his waist. Tanner dropped to his knees. Quaking with fear, he lifted his left hand. The yellow and green mottled bruising disappeared under the stiff leather as Sonny wrapped his belt around the hand once before slipping it through the buckle. With a sadistic grin, he yanked the belt tight around Tanner's hand, braced it, and pulled the belt strap with every ounce of power in his over-sized, sixteen-year-old body. The delicate bones in Tanner’s hand snapped like kindling. Malnutrition-weakened bones popped and ground together as Sonny tugged again and again. When he was done with him, Sonny tore his belt free and kicked Tanner to the dirt.
"Dues are up in three days, Shitter. See you then." Sonny smirked as he turned and entered the back door to Sora's. Tanner knew the money he had just given Sonny would go straight to Sora's prostitutes and perhaps the lone silver to the dice table.
Even at sixteen, Sonny Talo and his twisted tastes were well-known on GutterTown's seedy streets.
Using his knees to stand, Tanner cradled his hand. Already, his right hand was bandaged up and due to be taken off within a week. Now, Miss Siona would have to set the bones in his left and wrap it, too. Again. One of GutterTown's most notorious alchemists and famous for her less than helpful concoctions, Siona Vakal was the only one who would help the street kids when they were injured.
Tanner hobbled over to Kenna and ignored his throbbing hand as best he could. As he knelt, a wave of relief washed over him when he saw her chest rise and fall. Unable to carry her, he did his best to wiggle her still body against him. Cradling his older sister in his lap, he waited for her to regain consciousness, so they could walk to GutterTown's only healer together.
SORA’S HIDEAWAY TAVERN
CORYNTH, CETHOS
Kael emerged from the realm jump magic with Corleya and Alia at the back of a tavern. Aged barrels, full and empty, had been stacked under the sloped roof hanging off the tavern’s rear wall. He immediately sensed blood around them and searched for a reason. Looking around, he saw a pile of broken chamber pots.
“Someone was hurt here,” he told them, kneeling to examine the dirt. “Badly.”
Alia moaned as she held her head. “Kill you some day, wizard,” she said, barely above a whisper.
“We cannot—” Corleya said but stopped short as a coughing fit overtook her. Kael was reminded of how hard realm jumps affected them. “We cannot spare time to find and help them.”
“Not interested in helping them,” Kael answered. “Just offering a warning about our surroundings. This is a dangerous place.”
“We agree, again,” Alia stated, still breathing heavy.
“I’ll try not to let it happen again.”
“Stop, you two,” Corleya ordered. “There’s no time for you two to argue about agreeing with each other, for the sake of Paradise.”
Kael smiled. The jump had somehow restored the Princess’ confidence and royal mannerisms. Or perhaps it was just the familiarity of home.
Both women pulled up their heavy hoods and Kael motioned for Alia to enter the tavern first with Corleya in the middle, so he could watch their backs.
As the door closed behind him, Kael’s eyes adjusted to the gloom instantly. The stench of poorly fermented alcohol and the noise from the upstairs bedrooms nearly overwhelmed his senses.
“The far-right corner has an empty table,” he whispered as he mentally worked to dial back his esoteric senses to ease the onslaught from the stench and noises. Alia led them around a boisterous young man sixteen or a bit older. Kael frowned as the large braggart boasted about pummeling someone for their weekly dues. He resisted the urge to snap the bully’s neck just for the sake of doing so.
They sat at the table and scoured the tavern for someone who might be able to inform about the city’s royal and political situation.
A waitress made her way to their table with three mugs of ale on her tray. “Traveled far?” she asked and placed the mugs on the table. Kael dropped a silver coin on her tray, and her eyes widened.
“A fair ways,” Kael answered.
“Stew is ready any time if you are hungry.”
Kael handed her another silver coin, and she stared at it in awe. “I cannot change a second silver coin, Sir.”
“You don’t have to. If you know of anyone in here who can give us some information about the troubles here in the city we heard about out on the trail.”
“Dice would be your best bet,” she said quietly and indicated with her chin toward an older man sitting alone at a table as he tossed a set of bone dice. “Buy him a drink or two.”
“Thank you,” Kael said. “Alia, go see that weaver about a pair of whips. Corleya and I will go talk to the dice man.”
The mercenary shook her head. “I will not leave her alone with you.”
“It’s all right, Alia,” Corleya said. “Kael won’t let anything happen to me.” She turned and offered him an embarrassed smiled.
“You are sure?”
“Yes, Alia, it’s all right,” Corleya repeated.
The Salzaran woman nodded and left the tavern, but not before giving Kael a warning glare.
“Come on,” he whispered and worked his way around the tavern to the dice table. He nodded to their waitress on his way, and by the time they got to the old man’s table, she was already placing two mugs of ale in front of the older man.
“Dice, I’m told,” Kael stated, sitting across from the man as Corleya sat beside him. The dark shadow under her heavy hood hid her profile from the man.
“Aye, young man. Not many Salzarans enjoy a game of Bones, but all are welcome at my table.”
“Salzaran?” Kael asked.
“Your tattoos, boy. Every man leads his own path, I know, but very few people outside Salzara mark their faces as thoroughly as you have.”
“Right,” Kael said, nodding slowly. “Haven’t been gone from home for long. I forget how strange it must be to others sometimes.”
“Understandable,” Dice said. “Tough road getting here?”
“Deadly, yes.”
“Well, boy. What’s your bet? I don’t toss bones for free.”
“Actually,” Kael began, “I was hoping you could just bring us up-to-date on the trouble we heard of on our way first. It’s calm here. We heard otherwise. The civil war over?”
“Civil war?” Dice snorted. “A coup more like it. Especially at the end, anyway. Rumor has it that the first, second, and third Pillars of Rule are dead.”
“I don’t understand,” Kael replied, puzzled. “We heard both sides had called in their markers—that war was imminent.”
“They did. It was,” Dice said, shaking his head. “Duchess Vakaran had at least twice the army King Bale had. She brought her forces right to Corynth’s front gate with very little difficult fighting. I’m sure you saw them on your way in.”
“Yes, of course,” Kael answered, hoping not to raise the man’s suspicions.
“The King’s forces had been depleted by the units guarding the border to the Wildlands. The tribes are threatening war for trespassing. His gods-damned daughter caused that.” Kael noticed Corleya slink further into her hood as the old man continued. “All both of those did was weaken the royal army and distract the King from the real threat and now it doesn’t matter. Not enough nobles have stood against the change in our monarchy so whoever is in control will probably hold it. Us common folk
will be the last to hear any real information.”
Kael shook his head, but it was Corleya who spoke. “What happened to... to the old king and queen?”
“From what I heard, they are either dead or imprisoned in the Citadel’s deepest dungeon cell,” Dice offered with a shrugged. “It matters very little to us here in GutterTown.”
“Nothing ever changes at the bottom,” Kael agreed.
Dice lifted his ale. “Spoken by a man who knows.” Kael nodded at the toast and clinked his mug against the old man’s raised cup.
“Well,” the old man said. “I gotta use the crapper. Be back shortly, and we’ll throw some bones, yeah?”
“We’ll be here,” Kael replied as the old man walked away.
Corleya turned to him immediately. “We have to get to my father. Freeing him will be the only way to restore the throne.”
Kael sighed. “There is no way we can get into that dungeon. The Wizard’s Council will already be looking for us just from the jump into GutterTown. Especially if a new third pillar has been inducted already. A second jump will tell them exactly where we are. Unless you know of a back door into the very bottom of the dungeon?”
“There isn’t one.” Corleya shook her head. “As far as I know. My father would have told me if there was. The bottom level of the dungeon hasn’t even been used in my father’s time or even my grandfather’s.” He could hear the frustration in her raised voice and glanced around to see if anyone was watching. A woman in dark green leather armor and a hood watched them from a few tables over.
“We’re starting to attract attention,” he told her as Alia returned through the tavern’s front door.
She shook her head and sat at the table. “The weaver cannot help. The heavy metal filament for the whips will take too long to acquire.”
“It’s all right,” Kael whispered. “We need to leave now. People are starting to notice us.”
“Back door?” the mercenary asked as Dice returned and sat down.
“We tossing Bones, young man?”
“Sorry, Dice,” Kael answered and slid a silver coin over to him as he stood. “My thanks for the information, but we will be going.”
“That is a true shame, my new friend,” Dice replied slowly as he picked up the coin. “I will be here should you change your mind.”
Kael nodded. “Thank you for the offer. Take it easy.” Alia and Corleya followed him to the back door. He stepped outside and crossed the barrel storage yard before turning to talk to them. Instead of Alia and Corleya, he found himself face-to-face with the young braggart. Kael frowned. Though his senses had been notoriously unreliable as of late, he still should have felt the young man’s presence.
“Everyone in GutterTown pays dues to the Talo family, newcomer.”
“Is that right?” Kael replied as he swallowed the urge to strangle the bully, again.
“It is. My name is Sonny Talo, and these are my associates,” he said, waving to the two older men at his side. Each had a hand on Corleya and Alia. Kael suspected each had a blade pressed into their side or back. “Your women do not have much, but by the looks of that armor, you do. A silver piece should cover you for the week.”
Kael snorted and shook his head. “Little gangster, huh? How about you leave before you and your boys end up dead?”
Sonny glanced to his men and laughed. “Why are newcomers always so fuckin’ stupid?” Both shrugged in response.
“Sonny Talo,” a new arrival said. Kael only sensed her the second before she appeared. “Take your boys and leave, please.”
“Like hell I will.”
The woman moved quicker than Kael could follow and almost too fast for his faltering esoteric senses. Shocked by her speed, he stared openly as the woman knocked Sonny to the ground and attacked his two men by knocking them out cold.
“Take your leave, Sonny, or I will let this wizard tear you apart. I would rather not have to explain to your grandfather how your own stupidity got you killed. Am I clear?”
Sonny nodded as he looked up. “Yes, Pillar,” he said. “My apologies.”
The woman in the dark green armor turned to Kael. “Can you bring them around?” she asked, pointing to the two on the ground.
Kael nodded and knelt between them. Placing a hand on each, he released a trace of electricity into each, and both woke slowly before Sonny helped them back into the tavern.
“My apologies,” the woman said and glanced around before she removed her hood and dropped to a knee. “My Princess.”
“Mistress Spy?” Corleya gasped and gestured for her to rise. “We were told most of the Pillars were dead.”
“We are. Myself and the Hunter are both here in Corynth, and the Corsair is docked in Soena with the royal fleet, all still loyal to your father. We believe the rest died during the coup.”
“But you don’t know?” Kael prompted.
“No,” she said. “We were not here.”
“Wait,” Corleya said, smiling. “That means Father is still alive. Your magic...”
“He is, Princess, but I doubt he will be for long. Already our connection is weakening. We need to find him and quickly.”
“How?” Kael asked.
“Perhaps I can help with that, young man,” another voice said.
“Brother Donis!” Corleya cried out and ran to the monk.
He grabbed her in hug and laughed. “Princess. I have never been so happy to see you,” he said as tears slipped from his eyes. “I feared you were dead.”
“Too close, too many times,” she replied.
“Come,” the fourth Pillar said. “We need to leave GutterTown. Crossing the Talo Family is not wise, even for a Pillar of Rule.”
“Of course, Pillar,” Donis agreed. “Follow me and keep your hoods up as we pass through the gates to Nobility Row. Zaddyk has been trying to find a way into the dungeons for days now. We believe your father is being held there.”
Kael nodded and followed the stern-faced monk. “How did you know where to find us?” he asked.
“Zaddyk,” the monk said as if that explained it all. Kael offered him a frown as they walked, and the monk explained. “Right. You would not know of him. Zaddyk is a young prophet, but he has already fallen to the prophet’s madness. He told us... ‘the rightful heir will step from the shadows among the bones of the poorest drunkards’. It was the only words of prophecy from his mouth we have been able to understand in months. Luckily, Dice is well-known throughout Corynth for his Bone games. However, there is another tavern located near the old cemetery so me and the Pillar split up to cover more ground. When I did not find any sign of you, I returned here immediately.”
“Where are we going, Brother Donis?” Corleya asked.
“To the temple,” he answered. “I am hoping our new friend here can help interpret what Zaddyk has seen—a way into the dungeons so we can rescue your father.”
“You know what I am?” Kael asked.
Brother Donis sighed. “I certainly hope you are not,” the monk paused as if collecting his thoughts before continuing, “Zaddyk has become obsessed with a future that prominently involves you, and he has seen where the ‘blackness’ or the ‘darkness’ will decide the future of Talohna. He believes the black will return the rightful heir from among the shadows. We hope that is you.”
Kael’s stomach sank at the monk’s words. They were frighteningly familiar to what Vog and Dravik BloodPounder had said when he first arrived back.
“You have your suspicions, then?” Kael asked as the last of the rundown buildings and shanty homes passed them by and they emerged in a large marketplace three times the size of the one in Dasal.
“I know what and who you are, Kael. I helped plan your exile, and Giddeon Zirakus was one of my closest friends.”
“Was?” Kael prompted as they moved along the bank of a wide river flowing through the marketplace.
“The ArchWizard has been missing for some time, but that is a conversation for later—should
the time arrive. But, you… I do not know whether history is true or if perhaps the accounts I have read concerning your kind are mostly fact or the ramblings of the terrified.” Again, he paused, and Kael got the feeling that Brother Donis only spoke after he weighed his words carefully. It made him an intelligent and dangerous man. “Until your actions prove otherwise, your secret is safe with me and those you’ve already trusted. Though, I would enjoy a very serious conversation with you some day.”
Kael laughed and shook his head. “Your King might not be so keen.”
Brother Donis stopped walking as they approached a large bridge over the river. The carved marble footpath led to a massive fountain. The bridge had been shaped around the fountain and was clearly a late addition. The polished Fae statue inside the fountain pulsed with magic unlike any he had seen in Talohna before. Brilliant colours danced in the water and even throughout the mist in the air. The monk touched Kael’s hand and caught his attention as the others continued walking ahead.
“The Pillar’s powers are waning,” he whispered, “which means King Bale is dying. If we cannot get to him in time, but still manage to restore the Bale monarchy, I believe you will have a friend on the Cethosian throne for as long as she lives. Do you not?”
“Maybe,” Kael said. “Power and political pressure can change even the best of people.”
“This is very true. You are wise beyond your years, son. It will serve you well in the coming years,” Brother Donis stated. As they continued walking, Kael took one last look at the incredible fountain and smiled. Talohna had some amazing sights, there was no doubt.
“What happened while we were gone?” the Princess asked as Kael and Brother Donis caught up.
“We do not know for sure,” he answered as they approached the gate to Nobility Row. “The nobles are still swearing fealty or protesting from what we’ve heard.”
“Who was the instigator?” Kael asked.