The Hunter's Gambit

by Nicholas McIntire

  Aleksei felt suddenly helpless. Surely he should tell someone, but what would he say? He’d heard nothing that could be directly incriminating.

  Maybe he would tell the dream man, when he found him. Surely he would know what to do. If he didn’t, Aleksei would be out of ideas.

  A moment later all thought of the men and the Wood vanished from his mind. He stood before a great gate, stunning white walls spreading like wings to either side, embracing the city into the distance. Something shifted deep inside of him, and he knew its meaning as clearly as he’d known anything in his life.

  He was home.

  CHAPTER 11

  Mysteries Unmasked

  WITHIN THE PRISTINE majesty of its walls, Kalinor was madness. Aleksei was jostled from either side as he led Dash down one endlessly confusing street towards another that seemed exactly the same, save that it was possibly larger. Not even Keiv-Alon was this massive, this overwhelming.

  He caught himself gawking, even though he knew it made him an easy target for cutpurses and thieves.

  He no longer feared them as he once had. If they came at him, he would have to deal with them. And that inevitably brought the Guard, who would have questions.

  Even as that thought struck him, Aleksei realized that his eyes were flicking to alleys and balconies, searching for viable points of escape or attack. He was so busy mapping the layout of the street that he didn’t even notice the man who had stopped just ahead of him.

  Before he could pull himself to a halt, Aleksei stumbled into the man and they both fell to the street.

  Aleksei was instantly on his feet again, offering his hand to the other man along with his sincere apologies. The man smiled and took Aleksei’s hand, coming to his feet and dusting himself off.

  “Sorry.” Aleksei said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

  The man laughed and righted the crimson scarf he wore across his shoulders, “My fault entirely.”

  Aleksei froze. He was staring at a very handsome man, gripped by a pair of piercing emerald eyes.

  “I…I’m not sure how you could tell in this madness.” Aleksei managed, trying to understand the sudden warmth in his chest.

  “It can be a little overwhelming at first, I suppose. But you’ll be surprised how quickly you become accustomed to it.”

  A cart had come up behind Dash, and the driver was shouting angrily. The spell that bound Aleksei snapped and he turned away from the man, apologizing to the driver. He took Dash’s reins and moved on down the street.

  The dream man walked next to him.

  “How did you find me?” Aleksei asked after a long silence.

  “I can speak into your thoughts and dreams from hundreds of leagues away. Why would you be surprised that I could find you in Kalinor?”

  Aleksei mulled this over for a few moments before he realized that the man was leading him.

  “Where are we going?”

  The man nodded to the east, towards another set of shimmering white walls.

  “The Palace.”

  Aleksei started, “I can’t go to the Palace!”

  The man seemed bemused, “Why not?”

  Aleksei stared at him incredulously, “I’m a peasant.”

  The man arched a chestnut eyebrow, “Are you?”

  Aleksei shook his head and walked beside the man, deeper into the maze-like mire of the capital.

  Even in the chaos of aromas and odors Kalinor exuded, Aleksei realized that he could pick out the other man’s scent. He smelled like cedar, pepper, and roses in an intoxicating combination that Aleksei understood as being distinctly his.

  Aleksei wondered if he reeked of deer blood and sweat by comparison. Gods, he hadn’t even washed away the blood he’d streaked across his chest. It hadn’t seemed important at the time, but as they walked through the crowded city he grew increasingly concerned about smelling like a savage. When the man looked away, Aleksei took a self-conscious glance down his shirt.

  There was no blood caked across his chest.

  More perplexing still, there was no hint that there ever had been. And rather than the stinking of rancid deer blood muddied by sweat, he detected something profoundly different.

  The sweat was still firmly present, but he was also cannily aware of other notes complicating his scent. Cinnamon and leather and wood smoke filled his nostrils. Beyond his dreams in the Wood, or the deer that had offered themselves to him, it was the most keenly aware Aleksei had been that he had changed since the dawning of the day.

  He walked next to the other man, but time lost meaning. The man remained quiet and he did the same. His mind was far too entangled in the changes he was picking up. The world was quickly becoming a different place, and before he’d had a chance to adapt to one development, another made itself bluntly apparent.

  The air around him thrummed with millions of heartbeats, all set to individual paces, none of them his own. He noted the scent of every creature that passed him, man or beast, whether he wanted to or not. Other odors made themselves brusquely apparent.

  They passed a midden heap and Aleksei had to fight to keep from staggering away. Gods, was this a blessing or a curse? How many new revelations would he encounter before he had a grasp on being a Hunter?

  He began to deeply regret leaving the Ri-Vhan so hastily. Shouldn’t he have stayed? Learned about his heritage, whatever it entailed, before riding off to Kalinor? You’re hardly a realm away. Aleksei thought, shaking his head, Whatever this man holds in store for you, it’s only a short ride to the Wood. The Ri-Vhan will welcome their Hunter, even if you are a half-blood.

  “I know you worry because you care.” the dream man said softly. Aleksei was startled to realize that he could hear the other man over the din of the city. “But you can put your mind to rest, at least as long as we’re together. We’re both seeking answers, Aleksei, but we need to understand each other before either of us can begin to unpack our secrets.”

  “So you still talk in riddles, even in the flesh.” Aleksei grunted.

  “Well,” the man chuckled, “I do. I can’t speak for the other one.”

  Aleksei frowned, “The other one?”

  “Almost there.” the man said absently, nodding down the road.

  The Palace walls were much closer now. Aleksei looked away, battling the building anxiety. He turned his attention to the structures he was passing.

  The avenue had widened, and they walked between two great cathedrals, one dedicated to Volos, God of Death and the Aftershadow. The other had been built in honor of the God of Storm and Sky, Stribog. Aleksei stopped to stare at the structures, each ornately decorated in carvings and friezes.

  “Are you coming?”

  Aleksei realized that the man in the scarlet scarf had not stopped when he had. He hurried after the man, catching up to him at the Palace’s massive East Gate.

  “So are you ever going to tell me who you are?” Aleksei growled. “I’ve put up with a lot so far. Far more than any man in his right mind ought to. You can answer me a simple question.”

  The man smiled gently and bowed, “My apologies. My name is Jonas Belgi. Welcome to Kalinor, Aleksei Drago.”

  Aleksei frowned at the name. Belgi?

  “You’re the Prince?” Aleksei stammered, feeling his face flush.

  “Yes.” Jonas said, looking for all the world as though the title were more burden than honor. “But I prefer Jonas.”

  Aleksei thought he should drop to a knee or bow or something. But hadn’t Jonas just bowed to him? What was all that dream nonsense about toads, then? Had that been the “other one” Jonas had mentioned? None of it was adding up as much as he’d hoped.

  He kept returning to the memory of knocking Jonas into the street. To those emerald eyes. To the perplexing fog that filled his mind every time he picked up Jonas' scent.

  “So what do you want with me?” he asked, bewildered.

  He’d expected th
e dream man, or men apparently, to be, well…enigmatic, but not royal. He’d expected someone powerful, but not as confusing as the dreams and whispers he’d spent the past few days chasing. Given the speed of his travel, he’d expected to find someone of incredible power, but not a bloody prince!

  Jonas smiled. It was a handsome smile, without guile or malice, and Aleksei felt confident that he would have known the difference. Jonas was presenting himself openly and honestly; Aleksei felt he ought to respect that.

  “Why don’t you come with me into the Palace?” Jonas suggested, his smile never wavering, “It’s a bit more comfortable there and we can talk without the,” he waved towards the packed street a few paces away, “charm of the city.”

  Aleksei considered a moment, then nodded. The dream man. Or at least a dream man. The knowledge that there was another troubled Aleksei more and more as he ran it through his mind. But still, this man had goaded, pushed and pulled him until he now stood at the threshold of Kalinor Palace itself. Whatever else may be said about Jonas Belgi, he was without a doubt the most perplexing man Aleksei had ever met.

  They reached the East Gate and the guards stiffened and bowed deeply as Jonas passed. Aleksei swallowed hard. He searched for a moment when he’d felt more uncomfortable and came up empty-handed.

  The reality of Kalinor Palace was instantly apparent. Aleksei stopped in his tracks, combing his fingers through Dash’s mane as he stared at the majesty that surrounded him.

  They stood on a broad road, paved in the same white stone as the walls. The Palace sprawled before them, a hundred ivory spires, each tipped in golden tile reaching towards the clouds nestled amongst the undulating walls of the structure.

  It was breathtaking.

  On either side of the Palace were a series of smaller buildings, all built in the same style save one. Set across a vast lawn, Aleksei noticed an enormous structure that rivaled the Palace in scale. At first he’d merely assumed the two were connected, but now he realized how different this other edifice was. It was built from the same white stone, but the carvings along its straight, rigid walls were so intricate that they were scarcely to be believed.

  Jonas followed his eyes and smiled, “The Voralla.”

  Aleksei shook his head. The Voralla was a place of myth and magic, one deeply steeped in the Archanium. He’d never thought to actually set eyes on it. Until now, he hadn’t even been sure it existed.

  “Are you…one of them?” he asked quietly.

  “A Magus?” Jonas laughed. “Not in the literal sense. I’ve certainly never been trained at the Voralla. Members of the Royal Family are never trained, even in spite of our gifts.”

  Aleksei was surprised by the bitterness edging Jonas' voice.

  “So why did you bring me here?” Aleksei asked after an awkward pause.

  Jonas smiled, “Eager?”

  Aleksei scowled. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought Jonas was as nervous as he was. The man smelled nervous. “I hope you’ll understand if I want to get to the point after riding five hundred leagues.”

  “Ah, but they felt more like one hundred, didn’t they?” Jonas asked archly, concealing his anxiety as easily as changing the topic of conversation. His scent remained the same.

  “I guess you can explain that to me as well?”

  “To a degree. I don’t understand it completely myself.” Jonas took a deep breath, “Aleksei, I called you here because I need your help. Every Magus has a Knight, bonded to them during their training at the Voralla. But since I never trained there….”

  “You don’t have a Knight.” Aleksei finished.

  Jonas nodded, “Correct. I have no proper training. For me the Archanium is largely a mystery, but one that has allowed me some measure of insight. However, I’ve learned from extensive study that I can only accomplish so much on my own. Every Magus needs an Archanium Knight.

  “So I began a search. I thought I’d find one in the Legions or the Palace Guard. But instead I found myself looking farther and farther south. I can’t explain why, really. All I know is that something in you called out to me. There’s something inside of you that felt intensely compelling.”

  “You’re saying I found you?”

  “I’m saying there was resonance.” Aleksei thought he saw a flash of irritation flash across the Prince’s face. “That we called to each other. As the one directly connected to the Archanium, it was my responsibility to interpret that call and to make sure that you and I had a chance to meet.”

  “So how does that explain me traveling five hundred leagues in three days?”

  Jonas sighed, “That’s one mystery I can’t explain yet. Whenever a Magus forms a bond, the Knight receives a sort of…blessing from the Archanium. In the past, Knights have been granted an increase in strength, or inhuman endurance. A friend of mine became impervious to flame. That was the rarest gift I’d ever witnessed. Until you.”

  Aleksei tried to maintain his skepticism, but found himself grudgingly fascinated.

  “Aleksei, for whatever reason, the gift you have been bestowed is time. And as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, I’m not the only one who has been searching for you. I don’t know how it works, or how it will change when or if you and I become Bonded.

  “Someone far more knowledgeable has explained bifurcated bonds to me. We’ll speak more on that later. For the moment, just understand that bonds never stay the same.

  “Your ability to move across the country as you have will vanish, or at least change, when and if you bond to me. Or the other player in this farce. Either way, in place of what you have experienced…well, as I said, I can only guess. There isn’t exactly a lot of precedent in this arena.”

  Aleksei sighed, trying to make sense of it all. Everything Jonas said seemed more and more farfetched to him, yet at the same time he felt the Prince was telling him the truth.

  “But time?” Aleksei asked. “What does that mean? How am I supposed to control it?”

  “I can’t help you with that.” Jonas admitted. “I just pray that you’ll find your own answers, as I’m finding mine. But, if you’re willing, I’d like to explore these questions together.”

  Aleksei frowned, “You said you were never trained in the Voralla, but I don’t know what that means. You can obviously use the Archanium. You’ve walked through my dreams and spoken into my mind. That doesn’t make you a Magus?”

  “I never received a formal education, but that is a far cry from saying I have no talent in the Archanium. My talents are simply…different.”

  “Different how?”

  Aleksei felt Jonas' irritation flare in his chest, and in his mind. He felt a touch of sympathy for the other man. How was Jonas supposed to explain something as complex as the Archanium to someone who had never touched it? And if Aleksei decided to leave him and go to the other player, explaining his abilities would leave Jonas at a considerable disadvantage.

  At the same time, not being open and honest with Aleksei would just as swiftly send him running in the opposite direction. It was an impossible situation. Aleksei marveled as Jonas' thoughts tumbled through his head. Could he now hear Jonas' thoughts as easily as the Prince heard his?

  He opened his mouth to ask, but Jonas forestalled him with a shake of his head. “I’ve been training myself for years, Aleksei. There are myriad different meridians running along, through the Archanium, and as I studied them I found myself on a path very different from the others in the Voralla. Not even in the same region, actually. I can do things the others can’t. I have access to regions they can only dream of.”

  “Does that make you more powerful?”

  “Possibly.” Jonas conceded. “But their training has lent them a consistency that I have yet to master. All the power in the realm doesn’t matter much if you can’t muster a spark.”

  Aleksei sighed, trying to take in Jonas' words even though he didn’t understand much of what the Prince was saying. Meri
dians? Regions? And besides, Jonas had said the others couldn’t do what he could, but he never said he wasn’t capable of matching their talents. How much power did the man command? And what of the other player who had been calling him? Where was he? Why wasn’t he here too, battling Jonas Belgi for Aleksei’s….what? Allegiance? Affection?

  “That’s probably enough.” Jonas said, “For the moment, at least.”

  “Alright, so what do you want from me? To become an Archanium Knight? Your Knight? What does that mean?”

  “It means that your life will become intertwined with mine. Completely. If I die, so will you.”

  Aleksei’s eyes widened. “Why would anyone agree to that?”

  Jonas smiled, “The idea is that by becoming Bonded, we become two halves of a whole.”

  Aleksei started as the voice of the Seil Wood flickered through his mind. To make you whole. She had whispered that when he’d been thinking about Jonas. But what did that mean?

  “It is much harder to defeat either one of us because we are Bonded.” Jonas continued, oblivious to the phantoms in Aleksei’s head. “You would protect me from physical harm, just as I’d protect you from all things magical. But I can’t guard you every moment, as you must guard me. It’s for that reason that the bonding spell grants you a gift. It’s meant to lend you an edge in any confrontation.”

  Aleksei’s head was spinning. He still hadn’t fully recovered from the first revelations of the day, much less this. “How long do I have to think about this?”

  Jonas shrugged, “As long as you want. In the meantime, you can stay here in the Palace. Or you’re free to return home if you wish. I don’t want you rush to judgment on a matter as important as this.” Jonas paused. “You can even seek out the other player, if you want.”

  Aleksei could see the pain in Jonas' face as he said the words. “Alright. I’ll stay the night here, I suppose.” The very idea of sleeping in Kalinor Palace was at once welcome and terrifying. “Is there somewhere to stable Dash for the night?”