Vanquished

by T. J. Land

  I like this, Courage thought. I truly do.

  Then something heavy connected with the back of his head.

  0

  Thunder-struck, Uther stared at Courage’s unmoving form, crumpled in the snow at his feet.

  “I’ve never much liked physical violence,” said Sesserine, lowering the rock. “But by all the gods, that felt amazing. Wait until my mother learns that I’ve defeated the great Sir Courage in combat. Heh.”

  “W-what have you done?” Uther said, stuttering for the first time in his life. He bent down and, touching Courage’s neck, found that the knight was still breathing.

  “Isn’t it obvious? I’m taking the initiative. Since you so handily provided a distraction, I thought it was time to make our move. Oran’s still digging himself out of the snow, and we know these mountains better than anyone. If we make a run for it now, we can -…”

  “You blasted imbecile!” Uther roared, clutching his head. “Aargh! I was so close!”

  Gaping, Sesserine said, “What are you babbling about? What did I do wrong? You said the plan was to escape! That was the whole point of seducing Courage and Oran! Haven’t I simply expedited matters? We can escape right now! We don’t have to linger amongst these fools a moment longer!”

  Pointing at Courage’s unmoving form, Uther hissed, “I want to recruit him. I want to get something out of this whole sorry affair and he would be a major asset. If we flee now with our tails between our legs, all my work will have been for nothing. Now keep your tongue still while I try to fix this mess you’ve made.”

  “You – that – oh, fine! Do what you want. Like you always do.”

  Ten minutes later, Courage woke up to see Uther crouching over him with a concerned expression, and Sesserine bound and gagged at his side.

  “The wretch attacked you,” said Uther.

  “Attacked?” repeated Courage, gingerly touching the welt on his head.

  Uther sighed. “I apologize. I am many things, Courage, but one thing I am not is a coward who goes for his enemies when their backs are turned. Even so, I beg you to be merciful. In a sense, he cannot help himself. It’s in his nature.”

  Courage looked from Sesserine – silent, scowling – to Uther.

  “Thank you, Uther,” he said.

  Uther smiled. You stupid, trusting boy.

  It turned out the two warriors whose names Uther hadn’t learned had died in the avalanche. Now only Oran, Sesserine, Courage and Uther remained.

  Two of them. Two of us.

  0

  Sesserine didn’t speak him to once the next day.

  Or the day after that.

  0

  Oran shivered and stepped back. “Emperor preserve us.”

  “Not bad, is it?” said Uther.

  In front of them lay the gate. It was the only entrance to the underground labyrinth in which the gem was hidden.

  It was also one of Uther’s greatest achievements. More than twenty feet across and made of solid marble, it likely represented more wealth than either Courage or Oran had seen in their lives (outside the emperor’s palace, obviously). Even if it hadn’t been enchanted, it was too heavy to be broached by anything short of industrial equipment. It had taken Uther almost a year to make.

  The labyrinth below, however, was Sesserine’s work. He’d designed every one of its winding corridors and booby traps, just as he’d designed most of Uther’s lairs and fortresses. Unbeknownst to Courage and Oran, as soon as Uther and Sesserine were inside, they would have at their disposal several hundred secret enchantments with which to deal with unwanted intruders. Finally, they would be in control of the chess board.

  “This is the gate you spoke of, Uther? The one requiring a sacrifice?” asked Courage.

  Uther nodded. “Indeed. Very old magic. Powerful and uncompromising. No matter what you do to it, it will not give way until blood has been spilt. If a star were to fall and incinerate this world, the gate would remain.”

  Stepping forward, Oran placed a hand on Courage’s shoulder. “Sir, I know Uther planned to use the blood of his minion to open this evil gate. But you’ve always taught me that a noble man does not permit the abuse of his prisoners; nor does he stand by while they are murdered in cold blood. I volunteer to be the sacrifice.”

  Behind him, Sesserine’s eyes widened.

  Was he touched? Had the wolf’s gesture actually impressed him?

  Uther cursed himself. He should have made the gesture. What a fool he was.

  “My dear old friend,” said Courage, shaking his head fondly, “do you believe for one moment that I would contemplate letting either a protected prisoner or a treasured ally die to advance my goals? You know me better than that. I don’t plan to sacrifice you, or anyone. You see, I suspect that Uther has not been entirely truthful about the nature of his gate.”

  What was this? A flash of wisdom? An eggcup of cunning? Remarkable. Perhaps Uther had underestimated him.

  Uther spread his hands. “Courage, I’ve told you no lies.”

  “Perhaps not. But looking back, I recall that you didn’t specify that the sacrifice needed to be a human. In fact, when I think about it, it makes more sense to me that you would devise a spell that didn’t require a human death. For one thing, you would, presumably, want to be able to retrieve the gem when you had need of it. Where would you find a human sacrifice, in such a situation? You have very few living human allies. Apart from Sesserine, you rely almost entirely on your undead servants. You could, of course, simply kidnap some poor villager. However, that would be uncharacteristic. While your sins are numerous, your body count is low. So for you to hide the gem behind a spell that necessitates murder seems, to me, unlikely. I think any sacrifice – a goat, for example, or a chicken – will open this gate. Am I right?”

  “Not as thick as he looks,” muttered Sesserine.

  Uther bowed. “Well done, Courage. A mouse will do.”

  They waited while Oran went hunting. He returned shortly with a live rabbit hanging between his jaws.

  The sacrifice was only one part of the lengthy ritual needed to open the gate. Courage and Oran were forced to sit about for three hours while Uther and Sesserine wove their incantations. Uther tried to catch Sesserine’s eye once or twice as they worked, but his chancellor was avoiding his gaze.

  Finally, the markings carved into the gate glowed and the gate itself started to fade, like a boat retreating into deep fog. Soon, it had vanished entirely, revealing a staircase leading down into utter blackness.

  “After you,” Uther said to Courage.

  “You will go first,” snarled Oran. “If there are any traps lying in wait, you’ll be the first to die.”

  Courage shook his head. “No, Oran. He’ll walk behind me. I won’t run the risk of Uther getting his hands on the gem first and using it against us.”

  Sighing, with a touch of melodrama, Uther said, “So little faith.”

  That won him a slight upward quirk of Courage’s lips. “Come now, Uther. You’d call me a naïve clod for showing faith in you.”

  “True enough, true enough.”

  As they proceeded down the stairs, Uther inhaled the musty air and the smell of old magic. It reminded him of his fortress. With that thought came nostalgia and a certain amount of sorrow. He’d been attached to the old place.

  We’ll get it back, Sesserine and I. It, and everything else that has been taken from us.

  At the bottom of the stairs lay a long, dark tunnel.

  Uther snapped his fingers and all along the wall torches burst into flame, lighting the tunnel with a golden glow. “The gem lies at the centre of the labyrinth. It’ll take us two days to reach it.”

  “Two days stuck underground,” said Oran, gazing back up the stairs. “Damn you, Uther.”

  Courage patted his shoulder. “Oran, I know confined spaces distress you. You’re welcome to turn back and wait for us outside.”

  “I’ll not leave you alone with those two, sir,” said Oran, gl
aring at Uther and Sesserine. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

  0

  Now that his mission was nearing a successful conclusion, Courage grew more amicable.

  As they made their way through the labyrinth, he would occasionally ask Uther questions about its construction. When they stopped to eat, he sat next to Uther, their knees brushing against one another. For his part, Uther asked Courage about his childhood – tedious and uneventful – his previous lovers – few and far between – and his plans for the future.

  “Children, someday. I’ve always wanted sons. When I retire, I plan to marry and spend the rest of my days with my family on a farm.”

  “A worthy dream,” said Uther, with a smile carefully engineered to seem sad without being self-piteous. “Would that my own future were so filled with potential.”

  Courage hesitated, before saying, “You’ve cooperated. You’ve been true to your word. The emperor might be merciful. Your minion’s probably out of luck, though. Our divine ruler doesn’t like men with his affliction. He considers such things to be the marks of a rotten soul.”

  Nodding as though this were all very reasonable, Uther said, “I suppose Sesserine has given you little cause to doubt such a judgement.”

  Particularly given that you’ve never met anyone else with vitiligo in your life. The emperor was thorough in his efforts to weed them out.

  “Sir Courage!” barked Oran. “We should get moving.”

  Had Oran noticed the new camaraderie between Courage and Uther, he would no doubt have put a stop to it. But he was deep in the grip of claustrophobia. When they stopped to eat, he paced back and forth muttering to himself; when they walked, he urged them to walk faster.

  0

  It was hard to keep track of time down here. Nonetheless, Uther estimated they’d been in the labyrinth for seventeen hours when Sesserine crept up to him and said, “I want to ask you something.”

  Uther glanced around. They’d stopped for a rest; Courage was asleep and snoring against the wall. Oran, in his wolf form, lay curled at his side, possibly still awake but too preoccupied with thoughts of the thousands of tons of rock and earth above them to pay any attention to Uther or Sesserine.

  “What is it?” he asked quietly.

  Sesserine sat down next to him, folding his long legs neatly. “Have you considered…”

  “What? Spit it out.”

  “Have you considered that our goals might be better served by your accepting Courage’s offer? He suggested that the emperor would be merciful. I think he’s right. That stupid old man doesn’t have many truly powerful sorcerers in his court. If you could convince him that your repentance was sincere, he’d be delighted to have you as part of his arsenal. You could start off by doing him a favor – devising a spell to heal his gout, for example. Over time, you could worm your way into his confidence. Then, when he least expects it, you strike.”

  Uther grunted. “I’ve thought about that before. One obvious flaw in your plan is that if we allow Courage to drag us back to the city to face the emperor’s judgement, you will be executed. The geriatric rat thinks men with vitiligo are cursed.”

  Tucking a strand of pale hair behind one ear, Sesserine said, “Well, I would escape before we got there, obviously. Flee into the countryside and hide out in Sardanton for a few years.”

  Ice spread across Uther’s chest. For a moment, he was barely able to speak. “I see. Your plan involves the two of us being separated. For years.”

  “It…”

  “It could work, yes. Yes. Of course. That’s what matters,” Uther said, standing up abruptly.

  Following him, Sesserine said tiredly, “What’s wrong now? It was just a suggestion.”

  Uther found his vision starting to blur at the edges. “Indeed! A fine suggestion! After all, it’s clear that my company can’t begin to measure up to the delights offered by Oran. Why don’t you settle down with him?”

  “Oh, by all the gods – don’t tell me you’re jealous,” Sesserine said with an ugly laugh. “You utter hypocrite! You’ve been perfectly happy to let Oran fuck me into oblivion for the last few weeks. All your attention has been on Courage and how you might bring him into the fold. Didn’t think to ask me if I even wanted him joining our cause, did you? No, of course not. You don’t give a damn what I think.”

  “You don’t tell me what you think half the time! If you don’t want Courage as our ally, why didn’t you say so? No, no, you wanted to think that all I cared about was Courage, because then you could justify your own desire to be with Oran! Do you know what it’s been like, listening to you two? Listening to him pleasure you? I’ve barely been able to keep my hands off his throat!”

  “Are you suggesting I was somehow disloyal to you? It was part of the plan! Everything I did was to protect us!”

  Before Uther could reply, he was interrupted by a sharp, “What’s going on over there?”

  Oran was awake and coming toward them.

  “Nothing,” Sesserine muttered. “It’s fine.”

  “Has he been hurting you again, Sessa?” Oran asked, concern written all over his face.

  Sessa.

  Memory flash-flooded Uther’s mind.

  A man, twenty or thereabouts, wispy and bright-eyed, standing at the back of the crowd during one of Uther’s rallies, back in the day when Uther had still believed the emperor could be defeated by a popular uprising.

  That same man hanging on Uther’s every word and blushing when Uther glanced his way. Meeting him in the tavern afterwards and telling Uther that he’d read all his essays.

  That same man leading him into a dingy bedroom and showing Uther how he liked to be hurt. Bathing afterwards, washing off the paint and powders he’d used to hide his patchwork skin, then putting it back on while Uther watched him in the mirror.

  Sessa.

  Only I’m allowed to call him that. He said so.

  “Uther, put him down!” Sesserine shouted.

  Uther emerged from memory and found Oran’s neck in his hands. The mutt’s face was turning blue.

  Then a fireball hit the center of his chest. He dropped Oran and fell back, snarling in pain.

  “Don’t be an idiot,” Sesserine hissed, adopting a dueling stance, arms up and palms flat.

  Not thinking clearly, Uther clapped his hands together. When his palms touched, white light shot out and Sesserine yelped as he was temporarily blinded. A second later, he shouted a curse. Instantly, Uther was flung against the nearest wall, his ears ringing.

  “Enough! Whoever moves next will lose his head!”

  The authority in Courage’s voice was undermined by the way his sword shook in his hand. Oran was half-hiding behind him, his eyes round.

  Oh, Uther realized. Oh, you two forgot what you were dealing with, didn’t you?

  Uther’s gaze moved from his enemies to his chancellor, and he found himself entranced. Sesserine was grinning ferociously, crouched as though ready to spring at him, the magic field around him making his pale hair float upwards, almost resembling a crown.

  Something fierce and hot flooded Uther’s heart. By the gods, what a sight you are. What a wonder. Even now, after miles of marching and hunger, after weeks of cold and fear, you burn so bright. Never once did you think of giving up. Tenacious, beautiful man. If I died tomorrow, you’re the only one I’d trust to continue our fight.

  “Stop glowing! Both of you!” Courage squawked.

  Stupid boy, Uther thought vaguely, enthralled by Sesserine’s steady panting and the pink spots on his pale cheeks.

  Slowly, Uther gestured to the burn Sesserine’s attack had left across his chest, watching Sesserine’s pupils expand. See what you did to me, my chancellor. My lover. Are you proud? Does it arouse you to see me thus?

  Oran was babbling. “Courage, they’ve tricked us! The enchantments we used on them have broken!”

  All of a sudden, Uther found that they irritated him. He wanted to bring this whole farce to an abrupt end, take
Sesserine home and clean him up, then fuck him raw for at least an hour.

  “Uther!” Courage barked.

  Finally, Uther looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “Yes? How may I help you, boy?”

  Some of the anger on Courage’s face evaporated as he got a good look at Uther’s wound. “Good lord, man. How are you still standing?”

  “One of the side effects of becoming a necromancer is a reduced sensitivity to bodily pain.”

  It was the truth. It would have been far wiser for him to say, ‘Oh, it’s nothing’ or ‘I’ve had worse’. That would have elevated him in Courage’s eyes, made him seem stoical. But he felt that to demean the seriousness of his injury in such a way would be to demean the skill Sesserine had shown in inflicting it. At the moment, he was much too proud of him to do that.

  Courage took a deep breath, before assuming the tone of a schoolteacher. “Alright. Everyone, listen. I understand that we’re tired. We’ve all had a very difficult journey. But we mustn’t succumb to infighting now. Let’s just hold it together a little while longer and get this over with.”

  0

  The door to the chamber in which the gem was hidden was nothing remarkable to look at. In fact, it was identical to the fifty other doors that lined the corridor, except that it was the only one that wouldn’t turn into spiders if you touched it. That had been one of Sesserine’s clever ideas.

  “I’ll go in first,” said Courage, unsheathing his sword.

  “What if there are traps?” Oran protested.

  “That’s why Uther will come in immediately after me. I can’t have him enter first, Oran. Surely you don’t want him to grasp the gem before I can?”

  Uther, for his part, was in the midst of deciding how this escapade was going to be brought to a satisfying conclusion.

  He thought the easiest thing for everyone would be to knock Courage and Oran out with a spell, at which point he and Sesserine would depart. But he was feeling benevolent. Before they made their escape, he’d let Courage get his hands on the gem. He wasn’t a sorcerer so he’d have no way of using it. Nonetheless, it would be better than nothing. The poor boy had worked hard. Given that neither Uther nor Sesserine would be accompanying him back to the emperor, it would be kind to at least let him present the gem.