“Okay.” Nathan nodded and stretched out his arm. “I put forth a pact item and try to find the barrier to the Melkairen. Then I find the seam and . . .” He looked at his hand.
He had a scabbing wound on his palm. Laine assumed he must have cut himself when diving onto the rocks to avoid the bull Melkai. It must not have hurt too badly since he hadn’t noticed it until the sun had come up, but she winced seeing it.
“Hmm, how did that happen?” he murmured.
“Would you like me to heal that?” Kendra asked, sounding concerned.
Nathan shook his head, feeling heat creep up his face. “No—uh—it’s only a scratch. It’s healing easily enough by itself.”
“Are you sure?” Kendra’s tone grew concerned. “Even a cut like that can get infected.”
He waved her off. “I’m fine.”
Laine took one of her leather gloves off and handed it to him. “Here. It won’t heal it like Kendra can, but if you’re going to be stubborn about it, it will at least take your mind off it while we talk.”
“Thanks,” Nathan said, sliding it on.
Laine picked up from where Nathan stopped. “Once you find a seam to the Melkairen, you should be able to breach it. Make a hole only big enough to stick your pact item in. From that point on it’s all a matter of will. A Melkai with desires similar to your own should unite their spirit with your pact item. Afterward, you pull it out and then the seam will close.”
Not that there’s no risk to this whole process.
She clutched her cloak, Terachiro’s pact item. If the monster hadn’t had the same desire for power as her, its spirit form wouldn’t have been drawn to her, but once it had gained its true form and saw she was just a small girl, it must have been unimpressed. It had lashed out at her with its claws. While one had raked at her, she had used her blue-blade to cut the talons from the other, revealing to Terachiro that she was much more than she appeared. It had then wrapped itself around her. At first, Laine cried out in fear, thinking it was going to finish her off, but it instead bonded with her cloak, becoming her pact item. She still had the scars on her back from where it had slashed her. Now it was her most trusted companion.
“The pact item acts as a conduit from the Melkairen to your mind, that’s why the Melkai only transforms at your demand. In the end, your will determines what circle the Melkai is from. Obviously, you would want the most powerful second-circle Melkai you could possibly get considering third-circle Mel—”
“Yeah, I know about third-circle Melkai.” Nathan rolled his eyes. “You can’t control them because they are self-aware, right? It must be hard knowing you can’t control a third-circle Melkai, even someone with your skill.”
Laine grinned. “Not yet anyway.”
Taiba suddenly came out of Nathan’s hood and rested its head on his shoulder, facing Laine. Nathan didn’t so much as flinch at the creature’s close proximity. Laine shivered seeing it run wild while not in its pact item. Nathan treated his Melkai so familiarly. A human being on friendly terms with a Melkai was ridiculous, but something about them had rattled her walls. She had been taught that even first-circle Melkai were dangerous and couldn’t be treated like pets, yet the defenseless way Nathan played with his Melkai, the childish smile on his face, even though he looked to be the same age as her, was in complete contradiction to her lessons. She didn’t trust it.
The lizard seemed to whisper in Nathan’s ear and Nathan frowned. “Sorry, what do you mean by that?” he asked.
Laine looked down and shook her head. “Oh, nothing.”
She hoped she hadn’t said too much about her own mission to these strangers. It needed to stay a secret, particularly from other callers like Nathan.
She bit her lower lip. “But, of course, you would want the most powerful Melkai possible. Melkai are only weapons to gain power, nothing else.”
Nathan frowned at this and looked to Taiba, who closed its mouth and appeared to try and frown also, causing Nathan to smile again.
Laine rolled her eyes at this display of familiarity. “When people abuse that power, they create wars. That’s obvious in the fact that calling created this conflict between the kingdoms in the first place.”
Nathan patted Taiba, and it returned to his hood. “There’s the treaty to consider.”
She shook her head. He was naive to take such an agreement seriously. Kissick was hoping to take the land and everything with it and was willing to allow Melkai out of the Melkairen to achieve this. “The treaty will only last until one of them gains the upper hand. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Then I hope no one does.”
She balled her hands into a fist, remembering that the very purpose of her mission was to gain such an advantage herself by finding the other half of the Kairen Key. “It’s not that simple. There needs to be a power shift. My only hope is that the leadership shifts into more capable hands.”
“And who would you say those more capable hands belong to?” Nathan asked. “You?”
“I don’t know. I guess anyone who wouldn’t abuse their power.”
Preferably a woman.
Nathan stuck out his bottom lip and looked up at Aisic. “What do you think?”
“The old order needs to return,” Aisic said like it was the simplest thing in the world: a problem that had been solved centuries ago. “The monarchy was bred for leadership. That’s why such positions should always go to someone of royal blood. So long as that system is in place, war will always be minimalized.”
Laine smirked. “More inbred leadership then.”
Aisic raised an eyebrow at her. “What was that?”
“If blood was all that mattered, royal marriages would always be between blood relatives. We tried that and look where it got us: a divided land. The true flaw in that system lies in who is chosen to be the heir. It’s always the firstborn male, no matter how unworthy he might be.”
Aisic nodded. “Indeed, it is a roll of the dice as it were. Yet where the failures can be catastrophic, the successes can lead to a thriving country and prosperity for all. You must admit that the sacrifice is worth it.”
“Not if a more worthy heir is available!” Laine retorted.
All three of them looked at her, shocked by her serious though obvious answer. Laine waited for a response, but Aisic just smiled and raised his palms in a shrug.
Kendra shook her head. “Just make me queen! I’ll sort ‘em out, stop the war, set people to work, share the wealth, just like that!”
After the intense conversation they had been having, what she said sounded so logical in theory that they all just laughed at her.
They walked on through the warm day with Kendra talking about what she would do if she was queen. When Kendra ran out of steam, however, Laine returned to giving Nathan pointers until Kendra got bored.
“You’re going to Avatasc, right?” she asked.
Nathan nodded. “That’s right.”
Laine pursed her lips. “Well, if you’re heading there, don’t expect to be treated like a welcomed guest. King Kissick will do anything he can from taxing to thievery to extract whatever wealth you have on you. Being a visitor, you’ll be lucky to leave with a single coin left on you.”
Laine paused, realizing that she was warning him despite not knowing why they were heading there.
Do I really want to know?
She wasn’t going to share her goal of saving her mother by disempowering her stepfather, and she definitely wasn’t going to tell them that her plan to achieve this was by acquiring the key to the realm of monsters to overtake his kingdom. There was a good chance a fellow caller like Nathan would disapprove of such plans.
Aisic spoke up from the silence she left. “Thanks for the warning, but we’re not expecting a warm welcome.”
“Why are you going there?” Kendra asked. “Didn’t you say you were looking for something?”
“No, uh, yes. That item, that . . .�
� Nathan stuttered and quickly corrected himself. “A pact item, to be particular. One that would be the best for a caller like me, you see.”
Kendra stuck out her lower lip. “Why go to Avatasc for that?”
“Leave him alone, Kendra,” Laine cut in. “They have their own reasons to keep their journey a secret, just as we do.”
“We do?” She turned to her in puzzlement. “Well, I just thought that if we knew, we might be able to help them.”
“You don’t have to worry about that!” Nathan blurted out. “Ah, we’re from Garland after all!”
There was silence for a while after this outburst, but Kendra then started to let out short breaths through her teeth, trying to hold in her laughter. Everyone knew Garland was the town that created and enforced the peace treaty and did everything they could to remain neutral.
“A caller . . . from Garland?” Kendra shook her head. “That doesn’t seem very likely, but it does make sense considering you don’t know much about how it works.”
Nathan shrugged, trying not to look put out. “I guess.”
“But what about you?” she asked Aisic. “He doesn’t seem to be from Garland. His skin is too tanned.”
Laine shook her head. “Kendra, what is it that you want to hear? That one of them is from Terratheist, and then what, we discover that we could be enemies?”
Kendra crossed her arms in a sulk. “Alright, I guess I see what you mean.”
Nathan laughed nervously. “You don’t have to worry. We’re harmless.”
“With you heading to Avatasc, that’s actually what I’m afraid of.” Laine smiled at them, feeling like she had smiled more today than any other. “In any case, I don’t think you are our enemies.”
“Especially if you’re from Garland,” Kendra laughed.
Before they knew it, the cutoff in the path stood before them, and upon seeing it, the laughter subsided. Kendra looked absolutely devastated to say goodbye, and Laine found herself locking a neutral face into place, as though she were before the king. It was silly. These people weren’t going to punish her just for being sad to see them go.
“Well, I guess this is it,” Nathan said, sounding dismayed.
“Yeah. Maybe . . . if it is meant to be . . . we might travel together again someday.” Taking a steadying breath, Laine forced out, “I really hope so.”
Nathan smiled and nodded. “Until then.”
“Maybe on the way back,” Kendra said excitedly. “Until then!”
“Until then,” Laine and Aisic echoed.
She turned off in the other direction, and Kendra followed her. The two of them were silent for a while.
“That Nathan was kind of cute, don’t you think?” Kendra finally spoke up.
Laine shrugged. “I thought you would be more into the older ones like Aisic.”
“I don’t know. Aisic was really strange.” Kendra’s voice rose in pitch, sounding like something had just sprung to mind. “When I was healing him last night, he healed faster than any other person I’ve helped before. It was like he didn’t even have a wound when I first started.”
Laine frowned. “What do you mean? His leg looked to have been run through when I came across him.”
“That’s what I mean!” Kendra said. “It looked to have been badly impaled, sure, but like it had also been stitched up over a month or two ago. It didn’t make any sense.”
Laine’s brow furrowed and she stopped.
Maybe he’s got a magic propensity for healing himself. It doesn’t mean anything, does it?
“What’s wrong?” Kendra asked, looking concerned.
Laine stared back, a sudden suspicion dawning on her. She had heard of Melkai with accelerated healing abilities, but not humans. Before her theories could go down that rabbit hole, she shook her head and forced them from her mind. Even if her suspicions were correct, she doubted they would ever see them again.
“No, it’s nothing,” she said, shaking her head as they continued through the woods.
* * *
“It shouldn’t be too long now,” Nathan said, smiling as they continued along the path.
“We’re just about there,” Aisic agreed. “Avatasc . . .”
“That’s when the real trouble will begin.” Nathan sighed. “Have you ever been there before?”
Aisic nodded. “I lived there for a while.”
“Is it a good place?”
Aisic smirked. “Let’s just say I didn’t get a very good send-off.”
“What happened?” he asked.
Aisic shook his head. “It’s a story for another time.” He took in a heavy breath, shouldered his sword, and shook his head. “We should be ready.”
“I hope we see those two again . . .” Nathan looked down, trying to change the subject once again. “. . . and I hope Michael is alright.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Aisic frowned. “He’s . . . a strong man.”
Nathan nodded, feeling somber now that it was just the two of them. He looked down at his hands, and with a start, realized he was still wearing Laine’s glove. He had forgotten all about it. It was too late to run back and return it to her now.
Who knows? As Kendra said, we might see each other on the way back.
He gazed up at the moon, a constant omen of the encroaching threat. A quarter of it was now completely red. Although the threat of unleashed Melkai was terrifying, after what Laine had told him about Avatasc, Nathan was more concerned about acquiring the Kairen Key. He had run into two Melkai, both of which had nearly killed him, and yet he was more anxious about trying to haggle, squeeze, or threaten the information out of the Avatasc nobles than about dealing with any monster. Heck, without Michael as their envoy, they would have more of a chance trying to infiltrate the castle than talking their way in. He supposed that if he was confronted by a Melkai rather than a gang, he would at least get to see another interesting creature.
Dragon’s breath, I must be the only one in the world who can find a silver lining to being murdered.
“Aisic, could you teach me how to fight?”
Aisic eyed him over his shoulder. “With your body structure, I’m afraid you’ll never be a great warrior, Nathan.”
Nathan looked down, nodding solemnly.
Aisic grinned and spun about. “But I suppose I could show you a few moves that would work for you. After all, I taught Amberley how to fight.”
“Who’s Amberley?”
Aisic sighed and shook his head again. “Story for another time, Nathan. First, I’ll teach you how to disarm your opponent. No point in learning anything to do with hand-to-hand combat if your opponent’s just going to bring a knife to a fistfight.”
Nathan stopped in his tracks. “Go on. Show me.”
“Alright then.” Aisic faced him and put his hands up. “Pretend you’ve got a knife. Okay, now, try to stab me with it.”
Nathan put his hand up and charged, thrusting the imaginary knife at him. The next second he was on his back, staring up at the ominously red reminder of his mission once again.
“How did you do that?” he wheezed.
Aisic helped him to his feet. “Simple. I watched your feet. Look.”
Aisic showed him how his body moved when he attacked and how he could read the movement to counter effectively. He proceeded to instruct Nathan on several other common attacks and suggested ways someone his size could defend himself. Nathan listened intently for over an hour before they continued on their path. Even then, he continued asking questions, forcing Aisic to stop and give him another demonstration.
They eventually decided to leave it until nightfall to practice so as not to slow their journey any further. Nathan went about learning from Aisic the basics of the basics of self-defense. As Aisic had said, he would never be the greatest warrior, but Nathan was determined that, should the need arise, he wouldn’t be completely useless in violent situations either.
Although
he knew the one thing which could make him more useful in those situations was the rare ability to call a Melkai, the danger forced that option to the back of his mind. After all, the last time he had tried summoning a second-circle he had nearly been skewered to his bed by the monster’s massive horn. Learning self-defense with Aisic may have gained him little, but it was still far better than risking everything for only a potential reward.
Chapter 12: Succession
The ceremonial bells of the Terratheist cathedral rang out as soon as the great city gates began to open, as was the custom when welcoming home returning royalty. The massive doors parted slowly, and when they revealed enough of a gap for him to enter, the prince strode between them into the long city street.
This would be the last time he would see the entire city while under this king’s reign, and he wanted to keep the memory so he could make a comparison later on.
It was not in the perfect state he would have wanted: not orderly enough to either defend or attack as a force. The people instead were separated in different buildings, not acting for the good of the kingdom, but for their own selfish desires.
The setting sun romantically portrayed the shift in power he was here to enact, and in turn, the next morning it would symbolize it even further—especially when his plans for an ideal kingdom were made real. It was, after all, originally his own.
His teeth ground together in his mouth, not used to that of a human body after years upon years of having to spiritually jump to creatures with great fangs, not these tiny pathetic pebbles. His gloved hands, however, were remarkable: giant things yet so responsive.
“What’s he doing here?” he heard in a murmur from one of the open windows.
He knew this would be a moment in history: the first time the king’s throne would be taken in force by a blood heir. Of course, the prince knew the implications of his actions—the power shift and the wars that were to come. It would lead to broken loyalties, and those disloyal to him would all die.
War of Kings and Monsters Page 10
