Val continued his careful inspection of the command center, seeing naught but computer terminals, monitors, the digital map, and his friends gazing at him so oddly. “He was not planning on killing the Justicar, but did without a moment’s hesitation, and he spoke free as hell once the deed was done. No doubt we have some time before Dauda infiltrate these lands, but it could be minutes or hours, not days!” He gazed imploringly at the still dazed Highlords before him. It was as if they were unable to appreciate just how drastically their reality had shifted within moments.
“The rules of warfare you have trusted for so long are naught but convention, already shattered by our enemies! This place is not safe. No place you know is safe! What if oathbound citizens or soldiers have been compromised without even being aware of it? Giving reports in the dead of night they have no memory of during the day, and so they think their oaths to me are being kept in good faith.” Val gave an angry shake of his head. “I would think it as absurd as your gaze tells me you do, Christine, had I not overheard Inquisitor Dimitry and his grandson gloating about the pleasure maidens they had snuck into Blackenthorp palace. Girls who will pass any test, working in good faith, having no idea they have been compromised."
Lucius frowned. "But why..."
"There was no time. I was racing for Newford when I overheard it, and into battle the moment I jumped back. And since you've been here..." Val flashed a darkly bemused smile. "Neither of us have had time for anything save survival. No. We leave immediately, grateful even to have a chance to do so.”
“But what of the men?” Christine snapped. “We have thousands upon thousands of men to feed and care for, Valor. Your army!”
Val nodded even as his mind blazed with tactical possibilities and unorthodox strategies. “And they were always secondary to the type of warfare I favor. Don’t worry,” he assured. “They swore their loyalty to me, and their safety is absolutely my concern.” He gestured to the pile of Elementium coins yet to be stored away. “Choose your best administrators and officers to billet the men and see to daily training to keep them sharp and out of trouble. Blackenthorp’s troops will return to the city and resume their normal duties there, with officers and administrators following whatever protocols have been established to maintain peace and order when their lords are involved in other matters.”
Val frowned, gazing at the imposing Highlord, well over six feet tall and built like a linebacker, for all that he wore the crimson gaze of a leader to be feared and respected. “I have no doubt you want nothing more than to oversee these matters firsthand. But considering that Dauda might have already infiltrated your palace with orders to cut you down at the first opportunity...”
Lucius smirked. “I do think you are overplaying your hand, Valor. But your point is made. General Hance will handle things in my absence as always.” Lucius flashed a cold smile. "And now that we know the unwitting moles our enemies are using in the palace, Hance can feed them what disinformation he feels is appropriate, at his leisure."
Val nodded. “Good. Let’s try to get everything in order and be at Greengrove gate in a quarter hour. I’ll keep an eye out for trouble while you all do what needs doing.”
And Val felt his heart race at every flickering shadow, fearing that which he could neither sense or see. An enemy even deadlier than him. And it was only when he was watching over Bethany and Angelica like a hawk as they raced about as professionally as any administrator could, in constant fear of their safety, that Val realized just how precious to him both girls already were.
When Bethany caught his gaze and smiled, Val felt his heart soar. Just to see her safe and alive as they stood beside the gate, having survived the most anxious half hour of prep and planning that he could remember.
And somehow, they knew. Eyes shimmering with emotion as Bethany swept him up in a fierce hug, kissing him tenderly as the bemused crowd looked on before dashing for her mecha and racing up the side with an elite warrior’s practiced grace.
“Thank you for keeping us safe, Valor,” Angelica whispered, now dressed in a mech-warrior’s attire, squeezing his hand before activating her own battle-mech at a more sedate pace.
“Alpha Company ready for orders, Overlord.”
“Bravo Company ready for orders, Overlord.”
Val smiled as the two girls’ voices came clearly through their massive engines of destruction.
“C Team ready to kick some ass, Val!” declared Jake over the sound of pounding thunder, break-dancing in his battle-mech before the gate, skilled enough not to squash a single exasperated Highlord looking on at his antics.
Val nodded. “I’m going through.”
And in very short order, Val’s battle-mech companies and maintenance crew were all comfortably sequestered in what was now a massive palatial fortress, Val taking a certain pleasure in seeing everyone’s awe-filled delight as the grand buildings flashed brilliantly with reflected sunlight, entirely whole once more. The far smaller, only partially rebuilt structure his friends might think they recall was now no more real than a dream of what could have been.
More than a few of the Highlords and pilots still by the gate were captivated by the massive manor that was more a fortified castle than a villa, glittering prettily with its crenelated walls and turrets of exotic Altersian stone construction, the spires beyond bejeweled with pristine stained glass windows too narrow for any invader to breach, the heavily fortified structure flashing like a jewel in the sun.
Too long a shadow of its former self, your manor remembers what it once was, long ago. Not just a home, but a castle no king would be ashamed to call their own. A fitting companion to the White Tower you pulled free of oblivion’s grasp! 40 territory points remaining.
Chris whistled. “I don’t recall our villa looking quite that grand. And those fortified walls...” He frowned, rubbing his head. “Somehow it all looks right. The way it should be. The gardens now abut the wall, right by those rose bushes. Did I really just not notice?”
Dirk slowly shook his head, gazing intently at Val. “No, Chris. I’m damn certain it wasn’t. Everything’s foggy, but I know we didn’t live in a castle so massive it could fit a hundred battle-mechs with ease. And those Altersian walls are so damned thick, they look impervious to anything save maybe a dreadnought’s death cannons. But the fact that those memories we had of this place before now feel no more real than a dream, that chills me more than anything else that’s happened today.”
Val grinned. “And yet it’s billeting all our mecha, pilots, and key staff perfectly, and the wards I linked to all the entrances will hopefully keep any hostiles out. Not even Shadowmind is going to pierce a Level 40 Greater Ward without blasting the intruder to a bloody pulp.”
Dirk chuckled softly. “I have no doubt of that, Val. But don’t you dare tell me this is any more natural than that massive mage’s tower tucked at the edge of the wood with a garden radiating so much magical potency that Gregor fellow was cackling like a madman. The keep abutting it is as grand as the central hall of any Ivy League college, and the actual tower soars hundreds of feet high! And none of us ever noticed before we spent the night recuperating in quarters grander than any you can find in any Vegas hotel?" The man’s bemused veneer cracked, showing the wonder, and horror, just underneath. “And yet it feels like this is the way it’s always been. As if it could never have been otherwise. I didn't even think about how bizarre it all was until this very moment, and every memory I have of this area that I had carefully scouted out in exacting detail now feels no more real than a fever dream.”
Val smiled sadly at his friend. “And you’re dreaming, even now. We’re still linked as a party, for all that Julia won’t even talk to me. Come back to Greengrove, Dirk, and beware the Dauda. There’s a ten million credit bounty on my head, and the Dauda could strike anyone in the north. Here in the south? We have a chance. It should keep you all safe, until I do what needs doing.”
Dirk’s eyes widened in sudden comprehension and the wor
ds he frantically yelled at Val went unheard, Val blinking himself awake on the edge of the wonderfully fragrant gardens adjoining the fortified manor.
He caught sight of Bethany gazing back at him intently, emerald green eyes sparkling with worry her bemused smile couldn’t hide. “Val? You just sort of seemed to doze off on the grass after setting up the wards around our keep. Are you okay?”
Val blinked, noting Angelica nearby, also keeping a careful eye on him. He jerked a nod.
“I am. We’re wasting time. Everyone has their orders, and I need to move.”
“Yes,” Bethany nodded. “We do.”
Val slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry, Bethany. What I’m doing is already madness. It will be hard enough cloaking myself. I can do nothing to hide you in Shadow, and Kentric has all the more reason to put out a bounty on your head, a former pleasure slave his enemy claimed as his own.”
Bethany’s beautiful eyes widened. Val lowered his head, not wanting to see the sudden pain in her gaze.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, not bothering to hide from the crack of her palm against his cheek, momentarily forgetting just how strong she was.
“And you’re full of shit!” she hissed, surprising Val with the fire in her gaze. “Jake might have a Terran’s gifts, but my mother was the product of over twenty generations of forced mutation! You don’t want to know the hell it did to her psyche, being enslaved to that madness, before Father rescued her and won her heart. She was the only survivor of that horror, Val. The entire breeding facility destroyed by a dreadnought’s barrage! But scars aside, and even after twenty years pursuing her forbidden dream of becoming an actress with my father by her side, she was still the best damn pilot he’d ever had! And she donned her suit and mech once more for his sake alone. Taught me all she knew of the source of all her pain… taught me to love what she had been forced to abhor, all so I could be there for those who needed me one day!”
Her tear-filled gaze pinned him with the fire of her resolve, and never had she looked so beautiful. “I’m the best Mech-warrior you have, Val. The only one who can outfight Chris and pierce his shields, the only one who can outfox Yin when she melds mecha with magic! So don’t you dare think I’ll sit on the sidelines and let you risk your life, after you saved me from a horror worse than death!”
Val’s arms were around Bethany as she heaved great sobs. Val could only imagine the pain forever tormenting her beneath her smile. And he had reminded her of all she had lost. A mother who had fallen after enduring so much to keep her family safe, a father doomed to eternal torment. All he could do was hold her and feel her chest heaving with regret, kissing her forehead, letting her see in his eyes how deeply he cared for her.
She flashed a tear-filled smile. “No assassin’s getting to me in my mech, Val. When I pilot my mecha, I’m one with her. I feel her as if she were an extension of me. She is me. Do you understand, Val? My brain fuses with the neuro-mesh inside. Nothing escapes my senses within fifty yards, Val. Nothing! And my Psionic gifts make me even more formidable than my mother was. Had that bastard Kentric not ambushed the squad I led with forbidden exothermics, I’d be a thorn in his side, even now! And after taking out the last of Tiberius’s forces, I will never fall prey to exothermics again. I can now sense the presence of Silbion and Elementium when I’m one with my mech just as well as any mage. And you need me, Val. How the hell else do you hope to reach the Dauda before they cut you down?”
Val felt a strange chill with her words, sensing so much potential within the girl before her. Claiming an entire lifetime’s worth of potency from one’s enemies was very much a tenet of Highlord faith, and Val somehow had no doubt that, lack of character sheet aside, Bethany grew from her kills and accomplishments almost as thoroughly as any Terran adventurer.
Angelica flashed a grin. “She’s right and you know it, Valor Hunter. She’s the only reason we survived Tiberius’s death squad with so few casualties. I’m a competent pilot, blessed with a gift few Highlords have. But she’s a living legend. And you need us both by your side, just like we need to keep you safe and alive, or we’re all doomed to hell.”
“Even if you two were to join me, we still have a problem.”
Angelica flashed Val a bemused smile, her violet eyes twinkling merrily. “There’s no ‘even’ about it. We are joining you, Val. Now explain this added complication.”
Val squeezed Bethany’s shoulder. “I sort of converted Terrance Province into a region filled with wild magic. Mage spells will be more potent than ever before, but Dominion equipment will short out almost immediately.” He smiled sadly as she choked back a sob. “You once told me how easy it would be for you to fall in love with me, Bethany, and in case you couldn’t already tell, the feeling’s mutual. The fire in your gaze, the song of your laughter, the look in your eyes when you smile.” Val swallowed. “How damn protective you feel for me. It blows me away. But where I could really use you the most, where you could do the most good, is protecting the people we love from harm. Right here, standing sentinel, using your incredible gifts to spot any trouble heading our way.”
Bethany squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. “I already love you, idiot. If you had any sense, you would have known the second you took me on your bike, and all my pain lifted away, soaring safe and warm by the side of the man who had won my heart.” She flashed a bitter smile. “And now you’re asking me to play guard duty in an area full of wizards. Yin and I are the only pilots who could fight alongside them, and it’s only because your mages know to keep their distance that I know my men will be safe, taking out at long range foes Alwin will keep from getting too close.”
Val’s eyes widened, blown away by what Bethany revealed so casually. It seemed Terrans weren’t the only ones who could develop unique powers.
Angelica frowned. “But Bethany, I thought with your gifts… couldn’t you cross into Terrance Province with Val?”
Bethany gave a sad shake of her head, curls slipping free of her bun shimmering like living flame. “No, Angelica, I can’t. Even if I can mute electromana emissions sufficient to fight beside mages, all you have to do is peer into our husband’s mind to see just how terrible the effects of Greater Mana Warping are. Even my battle-mech would shut down before long.”
Val kissed both girls tenderly, eliciting startled gasps from both. “Take care of yourselves, okay? I’ll be back when I can.”
“Val, stop! This is madness!”
He turned, gazing sadly into Bethany’s eyes, all too well aware of just how right she was.
Eyes widening as he was hit with sudden inspiration.
He turned to Angelica who didn’t lower her beautiful elfin-featured face quite fast enough to hide the dismay she felt. He gently tilted her chin. “Angel, when your clan reached out to the Dauda, hired my sister...”
Both girls gasped, gazing at Val with widened eyes.
“Are you serious? Faith is your sister?” Bethany gave Angelica's hand an intent squeeze.
The other girl chuckled ruefully, her cheeks flushing scarlet. “That's right. You did mention something to that effect, before you managed to blow every thought from my mind." Her hungry gaze pinned his own. "What a crazy small world it is.”
Val flashed a jaded smile. “Somehow I don’t think it was entirely coincidence, or that my grandmother completely brought the story your uncles were selling her. Faith took far too long to strike at Christine. She must have been looking for some excuse, any excuse to curb her hand.” Val peered intently at the girls, surprised they both knew his sister’s name.
Bethany paled. “Your grandmother heads the local chapter?”
Val flushed, realizing how much he had revealed. “Please hold tight secrets that are not mine to share.”
Both girls nodded solemnly at that. “Angelica? Do you think you could possibly reach them again?”
The beautiful brunette frowned. “Not here on the southern continent, and for the first time in my life, I fear treading upo
n familiar ground, entering my home only to find death awaiting me.”
Val grimaced. “Damn good point. Alright. I had hoped, but...”
Bethany’s features broadened in a smile. “I think I can help with that one, sister-wife. Give me the signal. I’ll jump back to Highblood manor. It’s been less than an hour since we left, and I’ll be moving too fast for anyone who means trouble to ambush. Our own soldiers wouldn’t dare question me. And like I said, no one is sneaking up within fifty yards of me.” She flashed Val a sardonic smile. “Not even you, hero of my heart. It won’t break your Shadowmind, but I may be the only girl you won’t be able to sneak up on with any ease.”
“Not that us Blackenthorps are easy marks either,” teased Angelica, exchanging a glance with Bethany before they touched foreheads, the latter gasping as they broke the connection, eyes wide with something close to awe.
“I’m impressed.” Bethany flashed a teasing grin. “No wonder your clan picked you to serve as intermediary, or who they chose to send. Christine is luckier than she realizes.”
Angelica had the grace to blush, sneaking a furtive glance Val’s way.
Insight gained! But you’re clever enough not to say a word, right Val? Talk about awkward dynamics!
Val winced, painfully certain he understood. But now was neither the time nor place, and it was not for him to judge, one way or another. All that mattered was keeping the people he loved safe. Those before him, and the clan who would see him dead.
Furtive moments were spent in whispered planning, Christine and Lucius both stepping back with warning glares from the girls until at last they gave grudging nods to Val’s plan.
“It’s doable,” Angelica said. “Just ask Faith to meet me at the hotel you two stayed at. She’ll know the one.”
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