Justicar Jhee and the Cursed Abbey

by Trevol Swift

“Excellent.” Mirrei plopped down on the master bed. “Our own beds, again.”

  The yacht and the detour to the Tranquility Bridge Abbey had them sleeping double and sometimes triple. As denbe, the anchor spouse, Jhee was the only one who ever had the luxury of a bedroom to herself at any point since they left their home in the Far Isles. Though, if propriety would have permitted it, she would have allowed Shep to share it on her nights to herself.

  “Now if you’ll excuse me,” Kanto said, “I need to start readying our outfits. I want to claim this space right over here for a sewing area and to do design sketches. From now on, it’s off limits to anyone but me.”

  “Of course, far be it from us to interrupt the Maker at Making.”

  “Laugh all you wish, but I intend for us to make a splash and be the envy of even the most fashionable houses.”

  “Live your Make, denye, always.”

  Kanto and Mirrei waggled fingers at each other. “Pure truth.”

  Kanto pulled out various robes and laid them on the bed. He touched his chin as he poured over them, ever the fashion-conscious one. Jhee had better uses for her mind share. Let him and Mirrei tend to such matters, likely why the Makers had put them in her path. She cleaned herself up and went looking for the Makers’ shrine to perform her devotions and thank the Makers for their safe arrival as was her duty as the head of household. The shrine occupied a shell grotto off the central atrium. She gave of the elements of air, earth, fire, and water to the First Makers. The sweat of her brow to the water feature. Incense shavings for the ever-burning candle. Breath and warmth for the plants. A respectful touch of her esca to the ground for the Unknown Maker, so that one would not turn her way. Next, she paid devotion to the Lesser Makers. For Kanto, she jangled Maker geld coins and bounced a few off Futou’s drum-like belly. She burned a scented prayer letter and gave an extra measure of laughter to Pascoe and Lashae for Mirrei.

  Though, now that Kanto had mentioned the subject, the suite provided them much more room than they had on the yacht. Since they had the space, setting up a workshop for her and Mirrei while they were here did not sound like such a bad idea. Although, constructing a chemistry lab in your hotel room was a far cry from designating a makeshift sewing room. Jhee would have to ask Delphine if she had an area where they could practice.

  Hake Hill

  Jhee leaned against the balcony railing to catch a bit of spray and morning suns before Kanto arrived for their walk. Gentle rain patter and crashing surf eased the tension in her shoulders. Two figures yelling and gesturing at each other caught her notice. The strong winds and surf cut off most of their conversation. She had been refining her eavesdropping cypher. A small wind drawing might produce more than a clipped word here and there. She synced herself to the winds. Such a strong presence of the winds here was hard to control. While this might make excellent practice, it made for poor ethics. Jhee allowed the winds to slip through her mental grasp. Unaided Jhee still heard a word or two.

  “You need to leave.”

  “Why you?”

  “I have no answers. Just leave.”

  One turned to leave. The other grabbed his arm. The first man pushed the second to the ground. “Nowhere near us again.”

  The first man ran full on down the beach. The second got to his knees. He punched at the ground then clasped his hands into the traditional angle of the Makers where he mediated for some moments. He must have been the ambassador and man of the coif staying at another guest home Delphine mentioned. Jhee stepped back inside. She heard the door of the residence open and slam.

  The encounter on the beach stayed with Jhee as she and her spouses went on an excursion. Jhee hung back while Kanto and Mirrei rushed along the Avenue from store to store. She was content to let them have their fun though she wished Shep were here to help her keep herself occupied.

  Kanto came to a stop in front of a luxury clothier. “Oh! Let’s go in this one.”

  They dashed inside and wandered the aisles handling bolts and realms of vibrant, high-end cloth.

  “Denye, look at this fabric. Have you ever seen anything like it?”

  “No, it’s got an excellent hand, practically slips through my fingers.” Kanto threw the fabric about Mirrei. “It drapes wonderfully.”

  “This pattern reminds me of our house watermark.”

  Kanto and Mirrei emerged from the shop sometime later with several bolts of expensive fabric. They walked further along the Avenue. Kanto came to a dead stop. “You want to be bad?”

  “Let’s be bad,” Mirrei said.

  “Iced fruit and cream. Let’s get iced fruit and cream.”

  “Yes!”

  Kanto and Mirrei ran inside giggling. Jhee smiled and followed after them. The three of them found a lovely little table overlooking the deep blue water. Jhee kept her gaze focused beyond the immediate drop and further out to the crafts in the water. The two younger spouses gabbed about the latest doings and goings-on at the capital.

  “The famous Hake Hill row. I’ve always dreamed of being able to shop here,” Kanto said. “You’ll love the capital city with all the finest foods, fashions, and entertainment.”

  “No, she’ll be too busy with courses. The capital boasts some of the finest schools and academies in the inhabited worlds.”

  Mirrei raised an eyebrow then shook her head and smiled. “Who needs to plan the remainder of their life when I have you to do it for me?”

  “My lady Justicar,” a voice called. “Look, sibs, aren’t those our guests?”

  Jhee turned at the greeting. Two young women and a young man, all quite fetching, approached them with a few shopping bags in their hands. The young woman in the lead waved her arm then hurried to greet them.

  “What a pleasant surprise. I’m Erma. This is Semele and Vash. We’re Lady Delphine’s children. How wonderful to meet you.”

  “Ah, of course,” Jhee said. She clasped forearms with each of them. “A pleasure to put faces to the names.”

  “For us as well,” the young man, Vash, said. Vash was one of the men she saw arguing from her window. She now wished she had used that eavesdropping charm. He ended his forearm clasp with a rather forward extra squeeze before his attention immediately went to Jhee’s spouses.

  “Allow me to introduce my consorts, Bright Harmony and Star Mirror.”

  “Pleasure to meet you,” Kanto said

  Vash’s greeting lasted that extra fraction with them too, so she assumed him to simply be too affectionate. “Such evocative outside name choices.”

  “We picked them ourselves,” said Mirrei. Her gaze lingered on the young man’s.

  “We didn’t give you our outside names. You must think us terribly improper. It’s just mumsy has told us so much about you, we felt as if we already knew you. Given how close you and mumsy used to be, we didn’t feel the need to stand on ceremony.”

  “Now, do correct me if I’m wrong. You were mumsy’s society fellow in the Academy days?” Semele asked.

  “That is indeed correct.”

  Jhee and her spouses stopped dead in their tracks near the monumental Cetus Fountains in the square. A group of Doombringers preached openly and proudly about the Unmaking and no one, including their escorts, broke their stride. Their proselytizing was drowned out by a group of young Folk protesting.

  “Philosophy Making in the public square, a proud inland tradition,” Semele said.

  Each fountain hosted a different preacher.

  “The Empire thought nothing of them when it built the wall and submerged their isles. If it didn’t want to house or do right by them, it should have thought of that before it destroyed their homes.”

  “Yeah, put them to work in the mines,” yelled someone from the crowd.

  “Them and the barbarians,” chimed in someone from another.

  “Where they can get not one lung disease but two? We don’t need another drain on Imperial resources. We need to improve the working conditions in the mines.”

  �
�A drain on the empire’s resources? The empire’s the one who destroyed our homes, our livelihood.”

  “But that’s the game isn’t it? Keep refugees and the Fire Folk at each other, so the Empire can do as it wills.”

  “The only true unity is that of the Final Sword and the glorious forces of remaking,” the Doombringers said.

  “Blast this trenched drizzle,” Erma said. “At least it’s better than the storms. When those rolled through regularly, it was certainly a treat. However, everything is still moist and sodden. It’s sinking into the food and draining the flavor. Meals need to be seasoned with twice as many sea peppers as before.”

  “I wonder what they are eating at the capital,” Semele asked.

  “I doubt the capital has all this rain,” Jhee answered. She continued to marvel at the manic street preaching. “They are too far from the storm zone.”

  “Too true.”

  “What about you, gentle folk?” Erma asked. “Looks like we had the same idea. I figure as part of your stay here we should get you started on joining the social scene at the capital as soon as possible. That way you can learn who all the players are.”

  Semele clasped her hands. “If you have time you should stop by the street fair this weekend. Lots of local businesses are involved. Mumsy along with Styrling Mining is one of the co-sponsors. It’s to help raise awareness of Miners’ Lung Disease.”

  “That and Fresh Lung Syndrome are causes of mine,” Vash said. “I’m a fellow of the Breath of the Deep, a foundation close to my heart.”

  “Nice to know,” Mirrei said. She fluttered her eye color. Vash grinned.

  “If you’re heading back, we’d be glad to accompany you,” Vash said.

  Mirrei glanced back at Jhee and Kanto. “No, we still have a few errands to run. Hope to see you at the villa later.”

  “I look forward to it.”

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  About the Author

  TREVOL SWIFT is a sometimes sassy author of fantasy who grew up in Connecticut. She graduated from WIT with a BS in Computer Engineering Technology and now lives in Eastern Massachusetts. In her spare time Trevol enjoys gaming of all styles, cosplay, reading, writing and dancing. She also likes to relax by getting creative, with drawing and storytelling among her favorite pastimes.

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