by Eric Vall
“And I would keep you as my second wife,” I added.
Shay’s mouth opened soundlessly a couple of times in astonishment before her shocked expression crumbled.
“I never stopped wondering, but I had almost…” She choked back a sob and lowered her head so the red and gold curtain of her hair would hide her face.
“Woah, hey,” I said, and I tucked her heavy hair back over her shoulder so I could see her. “Can you tell me why you are so upset? If you love him or something maybe--”
“Me, love Bala!” She barked a bitter laugh as the dam of her tears finally broke and poured in rivers down her heart-shaped face. “What a ridiculous thought! Especially because I know that if he succeeds in inheriting Mec’s status, he will not hesitate to have me killed as is his right.”
“Wait. What? Why would he kill…” I started but trailed off when she shook her head and reached for my empty wine goblet.
“We have now come to the end of my tale, which actually starts at the beginning,” Shay said as she swirled the goblet around and gazed into the bottom. “I was just entering into my sixteenth season, and my brother gifted me with a fortune teller for the celebration. Everyone thought she was just an act, some parlor trick to entertain a young noblewoman on her birthday, but she read my future in my wine glass, and my life was forever changed.”
“What did she see?” I asked as I leaned in closer to her so I could try and see as well.
“She saw three things,” the bird-woman murmured and pressed close to my side. “One was a great tragedy of death and abandonment, which eventually came to pass a year later with the death of my mother and the exile of my brother.”
“And the second?” I asked.
“The second, she told me, was a great sorrow,” Shale-Lea continued and ran her finger around the crystal rim. “She told me my soul would be weighed down with the golden chains of a loveless marriage. This is my current reality.”
“And the third?” I asked, and she tipped the goblet so I could see the running lines of red wine as the last dregs rolled around in the bottom.
“The third, I believe, has most recently come to pass,” she whispered and then looked up at me, and this was when I noticed our faces were really close together. “The fortune teller told me I would be saved from this sorrow by a great and strange lover delivered to me in a boat on a river of Mercedes’ tears.”
“I am so sorry you have been in so much pain,” I said as my heart thudded inside my chest, and I wiped at the tears dripping off her pointed chin. “If I knew how much of a bastard Ren was, we would have found a way to challenge him sooner.”
“We?” Shay asked and gripped both of my hands in hers.
“Zoie’s idea actually,” I said and pulled her a little closer so she was against my side.
Then, as if she was testing the boundaries between us, she slowly lowered her head onto my shoulder, and I put my arm around her.
“I have a confession,” I said after a moment of silence. “The reason why we were raiding the Ruins was because I needed enough gold to enhance a weapon so I could have more of an advantage when I Duel Ren.”
“With your herald core,” she breathed, and her eyes were wide when she lifted her head. “But you told Zoie you traded it to the Ancient King in exchange for her life.”
“I did.” I nodded and squeezed her hands. “But I’ll figure something out.”
“You love her,” Shay sighed and then raised her hand to the sapphire gem that was always present on her brow. “That is a beautiful thing, and if my part in this is to aid in destiny, then you must take this.”
She released a hidden catch on the headpiece, and the heavy blue stone fell out into her palm.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Simply, I wish to replace the herald core you selflessly gave up for your love with mine, here,” she said and brushed her thumb over the precious surface of the gem.
“But--” I tried to say, but Shay cut me off and gestured for the mousy attendant girl from earlier.
“Noona, please fetch my brother, Horus,” Shay said and the round-eared girl bowed.
“Yes, milady,” she said and scurried away.
“Your brother’s name is Horus?” I asked as the name hooked my brain like a trout tugging on the end of a fishing line.
Before I had a chance to ask anything further, the black falcon-man who helped us all aboard came into the parlor.
“Are you well, Sister?” Horus asked and came down the few steps so he could sit next to Shay.
“Yes, my dear brother,” she said and accepted his kiss on her cheek. “I wanted to ask if you still know the owner of Gatetown’s foundry?”
“I do,” her brother said as he smirked sharply. “He still owes me a favor, in fact. Why?”
“I need your skills as a metallurgist, I’m afraid,” she said and bit her bottom lip. “I know it is a risk.”
“No risk is too great,” he replied, but then he looked between us and down at her discarded headpiece on the table. “What is this about, Shay? Where is Mother’s stone?”
Shay revealed the large sapphire in her hand, and then she grabbed my hand as well with the other.
“Horus, the Goddess doesn’t lie,” she said with a truly joyful smile for the first time since I’d met her. “She has delivered us salvation in the form of Alex the Asher.”
Horus looked at me with his gold-green eyes, and a knowing smile bloomed on his face.
“I knew we would be friends in the future, Brightwood,” he said, and suddenly the missing pieces fell into place.
“I know you!” I gasped and leveled a glare at him. “You ambushed us back in Mec Valley.”
“Ah, yes, for that I deeply regret.” The falcon-man flattened his black feathered crest as if ashamed. “I tried my best to prevent as much damage to you and your Lady when I recognized you, but there was no swaying Gul.”
“Yeah, well…” I grumbled as I held out my hand to show it was mostly water under the bridge. “I seem to remember you were the least douchey of Anti-Robin Hood’s Merry Men Rejects.”
“Hah! You have a way, Duelist, that is most particular,” Horus said and clasped my forearm. “Now, what is this about my sister’s claims? Are you the one her fortune teller predicted?”
“I… um,” I stammered and then stopped for a moment to sort out my thoughts. “All I know is I am not here by accident. I don’t really know what that means, but for now I know what I have to do to survive and protect those I care about.”
“And do you?” Horus asked, and his crest hackled upward as his eyebrows drew down into a serious frown. “Care about my Shale-Lea?”
“I can tell you are a good brother, Horus,” I said with a smile and patted him on the shoulder.
Then I looked at Shale-Lea, the wife of my sworn enemy, Bala Ren, and I couldn’t deny the connection that sizzled between us. It felt similar to when I first saw Zoie, and my instincts hadn’t steered me wrong yet.
“And to answer your question, yes,” I continued when I turned back to the falcon-man. “I am already starting to care for your sister quite a bit. If I can kill her husband, I will marry her and make her happy.”
“Then you have my blessing, and of course my forger’s tools,” the falcon-man said with a sincere expression.
It hit me just then I probably really had made a friend for life just now, and I figured loyalty was something sacred to a man who decided to live among mercenaries and exiles.
“So, what sacred weapon will our mother’s heirloom be enhancing?” Horus asked as he rubbed his long-fingered hands together like he was warming them up from being out in the snow.
I untied the Roman-like sword from my belt and set it on the table, scabbard and all, and Horus picked it up and examined it for a moment before he set it back down.
“Excellent balance, pure Terran steel, it will serve you well… Sister, get ready,” Horus instructed as he chaffed his hands together even harder until
an orange glow began to form from underneath his skin.
My eyes boggled at this weird form of magic, and I leaned in closer to witness the ritual.
Shay handed over the golf-ball sized gemstone into Horus’ cupped hands that now shined like molten iron. The sapphire hissed a little when it hit his skin, and the display even raised the temperature of the immediate vicinity by a few degrees from what I could feel.
“Brightwood, unsheathe your blade,” Horus said next, and an eerie golden light entered inside his dilated eyes.
I hurried to do what he said given he looked like he was in some sort of trance, and after I pulled the sword out of its scabbard, I made sure to remove it so even the leather sheath was out of the way.
The black feathered man then placed the glowing sapphire right where the blade met the hilt. The gemstone snapped to the metal as if it was magnetized, and then, with a deep breath, Horus pressed with all his might until the gem was flush with the blade and a searing snap sounded as the entire blade turned a shiny blue chrome instead of silver.
“Woah,” I breathed when the whole thing was over, and the falcon man’s eyes faded back to their usual gold-green. “What just happened?”
“Horus is an alchemical metallurgist, which means he can enhance weapons with elemental cores, but not just any smith can do this,” Shay said with a proud smile.
Meanwhile, Horus busied himself as he poured a goblet of water, threw a tithe stone inside, and chugged down the liquid once the tithe stone dissolved.
“Interesting, I’ve always wanted to know more about the attributes of Mother’s heirloom,” Horus mused as he wiped his mouth on the back of his wrist.
“What do you mean by attributes?” I asked the metallurgist.
“I can sense certain attributes in enhanced metals,” he said as he poured and purified another goblet of water. “I always knew Mother’s was rare just given the color, but this core is a bit of a mystery.”
“In what way?” Shay asked and sat forward.
“There are six known types of herald cores that follow the spectrum,” Horus said and tapped the sunken sapphire on the blade of my weapon. “Red and orange cores are common and usually give weapons standard attributes like unbreakable strength and swiftness. Yellow and green cores are uncommon and have attributes like stealth and duplication. But blue and purple cores are considered rare, and their attributes only reveal themselves when they want to.”
“You talk like the cores are still aware or sentient or something,” I said.
“Usually, the herald demons with rare cores are those that used to command armies during the Demon Tide from the sea,” Horus explained and then poured himself some wine. “There is little known about rare cores.”
“But surely the mighty Horus, alchemist extraordinaire, can hear what the metal whispers,” Shay teased and shoved her brother in the chest like she was a typical kid sister interrupting his scary story.
“It is a delicate art, but I can give it one more try if it pleases the Lady,” Horus said like a proper gentleman, even though he tweaked her elfin nose.
“It pleases me thus.” Shay nodded as if this was a familiar banter they typically engaged in.
“Okay,” he said and picked up the sword. He held it by the hilt with his left hand, and then with his right he lightly cut his palm. His eyes flashed gold for a second that was reminiscent of his melding-trance thing.
“What does it say, Brother?” Shay asked when Horus shook his spiky feathered head as if he was clearing his vision.
“The Runes say either ‘Righteous Anger’ or ‘Righteous Judgment,’ I’m not sure which,” he said and pinched the bridge of his long nose. “Whatever the case, I imagine the rune only has two or three great battles in it, so choose them wisely.”
“Is there a limit on how many times I can use the sword?” I asked and looked down at its blue mirrored surface.
“Common red and orange cores are limitless in their enhancement attributes, but uncommon and rare cores usually burn out after exhausting their power so many times,” the falcon-man explained as his sister tended to the cut across his hand with a clean cloth napkin. “It has something to do with how it binds to the metal, but I skipped out on the tutors Father always had prepared for me, so I’m not the best on the alchemical theory behind it all.”
“Yeah, I cut a few chemistry classes, too,” I commented as I took another napkin from the table and polished away the smudge of blood left on the edge. “Can you add multiple cores to one weapon? You know, build up the power.”
Horus blinked at me for a moment. “I-I’m not sure. Cores and weapons have always just had a one-to-one ratio. I’ve never heard of someone trying to add more.”
“Well, maybe not right now, but soon I’d like to figure out if that’s possible.” I grinned. “If I could add two or more cores to my weapon, I could increase my Asher rank without breaking a sweat.”
“I like you, Asher Brightwood,” Horus laughed with a twinkle in his eyes. “You are the right amount of crazy.”
“Thanks,” I snorted before I looked back at my sword. “Will it always be blue, by the way?”
“Not after I fire it in a forge,” Horus said and flexed his fingers after Shay was done with her first aid. “Then it will fade back to silver. This is to the bearer’s advantage, trust me. You don’t want your opponent to know what cards you hold right from the start, correct?”
“It’s strategic,” I agreed with a nod. “Especially if you are the only one who knows the sword’s attributes.”
“People pay my brother from all over to appraise their weapons of their statistics,” Shay said with pride shining in her voice, and I looked between the two bird siblings.
I finally understood what Shay had to lose if the siblings’ father succeeded in wiping out the exiles and mercenaries with Ren. I wasn’t sure what kind of Jerry Springer Family Drama was going on there, but all I really needed to see was how they took care of each other like they were the only two they could rely on against the world.
In a way, I always kind of envied that type of natural closeness between siblings.
“Well, Horus, I’m glad this meeting between us went a little better than the last time.” I sheathed the blue Roman-like sword and handed it over to the falcon-man. “How much do I owe you in gold?”
“Do not worry about the gold, Brightwood,” Horus said and clasped my shoulder. “As I am still my sister’s elder brother, consider these services as a type of dowry on her behalf.”
“A dowry?” I repeated with a frown. “Like a payment for marriage?”
“If you are using this weapon for what I think you are, then you would do well to protect the only family I have left and cut down the bastard as he lives and breathes,” he said, and his dark eyebrows lowered so severely it hooded his gold-green eyes and made him look wild even though he was perfectly composed on the outside.
“It’s a promise I made already, you can count on it,” I vowed and stuck out my hand again for him to clasp.
“I should make my way quickly to Gatetown tonight because it will take at least a day for the sword to be ready,” he said and then got up from the lounge area.
I did as well and helped Shay to her feet.
“If you happen to pass by the Gate’s Inn, could you check to see if the innkeeper, Tovish, is okay?” I requested.
“Count on it, Asher Brightwood.” Horus nodded.
“Call me Alex,” I said with a grateful smile.
“And where might I deliver the weapon once it is ready?” he asked as he tucked the sword under his arm.
“You must bring it to the palace arena for the races in three days hence,” Shay said and held his hand in both of her smaller ones. “We cannot wait for you because we must cast off tonight in order to make it back to Bala’s estate. It will already take us a full day to sail there, and I have to prepare Alex as much as I can before Bala gets home on the eve of the races. Is it doable for you?”
“It will be cutting it close, but I believe I can make it,” Horus said and kissed the back of her knuckles. “I will go. Good luck, Alex, and may the Goddess be the wind under your wings.”
“Same to you, Horus,” I said, and with one last kiss to his sister’s cheek, he ran up the steps and out of the parlor.
“Roofus!” Shay then called, and a familiar flapping of wings barreled through the door when one of the attendants opened it.
The dusty gold-seeker moth plowed right into my chest with a happy squawk, and I laughed as he tried to nuzzle under my chin.
“Hey, it looks like your wing is all better!” I said, and I scruffed his head with one hand as he stood on the back of my other.
“The moss I carry on hand has really quick healing properties for any avian mixed species,” Shay said as she pulled a small scroll out of her cleavage, which made me stare just a little too long at her full chest. “Roofus’ injury was only a small fracture.”
“You really know your stuff,” I remarked as I watched her tie the scroll around one of Roofus’ crow feet. “What’s that for?”
“This is being sent to your current estate manager, I think his name is Mr. Jenner, is that correct?” Shay asked, and I nodded my confirmation. “I am requesting he send your newly bequeathed canterfly, along with his groom.”
“You mean Prosper and Rylan?” I perked up a little.
“The only requirements to enter the race are thus: you have to be of Asher status, pay your entrance fee, and fly your own steed,” she said and coaxed Roofus onto her forearm. “Because we are leaving for Valley City tonight, we should be arriving at the same time as your groom. Join me?”
Shay looked up at me through her lowered eyelashes and then gestured to the door with a tip of her radiant red-haired head, so I extended my arm for her to take, and she looped the one not occupied by the yellow crow-moth through the crook of my elbow.
“Lead on,” I said, and she took me back out onto the upper deck.
The stars and moon shone brightly overhead, and the sweet sea air smelled fresh and inviting. It was the perfect night, and my companion looked just as celestial as those heavenly bodies above.
