Jess was amused but also irritated, a bit disgusted, and terribly confused. Why were they being so friendly? Were they truly brothers? Their olive complexion and jet-black hair was the same, but Ari outstood Aldrious by almost a foot. However, after seeing them smile at each other, there was no doubt they were flesh and blood. They had the same mischievous and constant grin, though the brothers used them with very different intents. She was done pondering this; it didn’t matter. Aldrious was her sworn enemy, and if Ari were to sympathize with his brother, then he was her enemy too.
Jess had a dagger in the pocket of her dress, just in case something were to be amiss. She secretly slid it into her hand, and then held it to Aldrious’s groin. “I don’t care a bit what you think of, but if you move a muscle, you won’t have anything to yank on!”
Aldrious went pale and gulped hard. He looked to his brother, but Ari was just grinning. “Right. I deserve that. I treated you without respect, my petite Mantine. I am quite sorry, now that I am finally paying for my actions. Responsibility is such a dirty whore.” He was smiling, but he was hardly a shell of the tyrant he was before. “Arrikos, will you listen to me? I haven’t much time left until I am apprehended. I have foreseen it, and I am quite sure there will be no change to that. So don’t you worry, my ladies, I will be paying the ultimate price for my sins whether you show me mercy or not.”
“Would you like to see a piece of cow feces try to spin us a yarn? We can bring him to Winston’s if you are so inclined,” said Ari, smiling.
Jess held the blade in her shaking hand. She was curious, and she wanted to keep seeing the cardinal in his pathetic state, although she was sure it could very well be at the cost of her own life. She was not with her friend as she thought; she was with the heir of the Dalgarie family, a corrupt and foreign nobleman.
“You will not look at me, and if you touch me I will scream your name as loudly as all get-out into the streets. Do you understand me, you sick fuck?” She jammed the blade into him slightly, scraping him but not breaking the flesh.
It was sufficiently intimidating, forcing a nod as he kept his gaze averted from her.
“Good, let us go.” Ari grabbed their hands cheerfully, leading them a few measly paces down the alley before ascending a decrepit-looking steel staircase against the tall building. He tapped lightly on the door, and it swung open.
He led them into the dark room and motioned that they take their seats. That was a rather impossible thing to suggest, as there were no seats. All they could see was a single black cat, licking its back in the corner of the empty room.
“Oh, I get to see your cattiness at last!” Ari squealed, jumping up and down in place.
“No, no you don’t,” a nasally voice whispered from behind the door. Ari had practically squished Winston against the wall. “Why have you come back, Loretta?”
Jess and Aldrious could hear Winston, they could feel his hot breath, but they saw no one. They watched in wonder as Ari bounded to the middle of the room and sat down, seeming to levitate.
“You really have taken that transparency thing to heart, then, hmm?”
“One can never be too safe, especially when one’s only friend brings his archenemy into his home!” The voice was screeching and pushed against Aldrious before it knocked Ari off his floating perch and onto the ground.
The apartment was small, with off-white walls and a dusty wooden floor. A connected kitchen sat in the near corner of the room, though entirely sparse. There was one door ahead of them, presumably the toilet. The furniture Ari floated above, any appliance in the kitchen, any manuscripts, even the host himself, were completely invisible. The smell was musty, a bit decayed, but its source was a mystery.
“He is not your archenemy; he is my kid brother. Also, I am not your only friend; I am your best friend, sweetheart!” Ari replied happily. He was floating once again, trying desperately to get the cat in the corner to visit. “Shut the door, Aldy, and come on over you two. Winston, we originally came because the lass there, my new employer, is an avid fan of your work. My brother happened to accost us as we drew near, and since he promised he’d die soon, I decided not to kill him.”
“You are really a fan? You are so pretty, though.” The voice was right in Jessica’s ear. She had remained standing, but Aldrious tried to sit with Ari. He ended up not finding a chair and fell on the floor instead.
“Yes, I love your books. Especially The Sailor, the Siren Sang. That’s my all-time favorite.” Jess had been excited to meet Winston, but the reality wasn’t all that satisfactory, as she couldn’t even see him.
“Good taste, girl.” The voice chuckled and moved farther away. “Okay, well, she met me. Shouldn’t you leave now? I want no trouble.”
Ari nodded grimly. “Might you play host to our brief discussion? We shall leave promptly after my brother is done with his pathetic tale.”
“Five minutes. I will take off my transparency if you are not done, and I assure you, none of you would like to see the level of filth amongst you.” Winston was laughing, as Jess saw the cat curl around his invisible leg.
Aldrious groaned, holding the black robe’s sleeve over his mouth. “Right, I will be quick. Do you know that your employer’s friends abducted the prince?”
“I do now!” cheered Ari. He was grinning as he placed his hand lovingly on his brother’s knee, forcing Aldrious to grimace.
“Yeah, the prince that you killed a year ago!” Jess kicked him in the back, but he did not turn to her.
“That is debatable, but yes, the prince was already dead. Well, I had a hunch they would take him to Alafor. Our cousin has learned the art of resurrection, so the sacrificial lamb of Casperland will need allies. Where better than Alafor?” Aldrious stretched out and scratched his long nails playfully along his brother’s arm, wishing he could be stripping off his skin instead. “Well, I contacted your wife. She has a lab out there.”
“Do not call her that.” Ari threw his brother’s hand off of him, turning away in disgust. “Call her Camilla, call her bitch from hell, call her anything but mine.”
“Whatever you say. She is the finest piece of tail in the eastern hemisphere; who else but my freaky brother would get her and not appreciate her at all. Regardless, I tried to get her to help me and have the Alafor arrest them. She agreed, but after that I do not know what happened. There have been at least three Knox ships spotted near the eastern harbor, which leads me to believe it didn’t go quite as I had planned.”
“She fucked you. Why are you surprised?”
“If only that were what she did.” His smile barely hung in his mouth. His face was sour and looked aged, not youthful as it always had.
“Okay, so Knox is going to take you and kill you, and I care about this why?”
“I don’t give a damn about you or what you care about!” Aldrious shouted, flailing his arm and accidentally smashing it against Winston’s table. “Although I perverted Casperland and wanted it all my own, I entirely prefer it to Knox. I do not want to see its essence evaporated by blind and stupid faith. I want to talk to you so Jessica can hear me. If you listen to me carefully, I think you can warn your lover.”
“Why the fuck should I trust you? You killed Micah! You just want to kill him again!” Jessica was livid as she yelled to the back of his head.
“I don’t expect you to believe me, but I never intentionally hurt the prince, and that is pure truth. I don’t like him, but I find him very important and definitely didn’t want him dead. I had planned to keep him as my puppet. I wanted power; I needed no crown or throne. That just puts a target on one’s head. What I want now, as continued power is out of the question for me, is for sanity to be restored in this realm. I want the brothers and sisters of wicked Aegis to burn to ash, and I feel your little prince might be the very phoenix for the job. What will it hurt, anyhow? All I want you to do is think, to feel. You will likely get a feeling back, and I’m sure that could be a comfort.”
“Feh, so A
ldy didn’t want me all along. First you think I am that Billiam fellow, and then you try to entrance the lady. Such an ungrateful, unfeeling sibling,” Ari pouted out.
“I had no idea what or who I was running to or from. I just knew in my gut that I needed to go north, and then I thought I saw the towering dandy. I guess I still sort of did, just not the right one.”
“Hey! I’m no dandy!” shouted Ari, causing his brother to become hysterical for a moment.
“Yes, yes whatever, I didn’t mean literally. I just meant a tall deviant of some sort.” He stopped laughing and clacked his nails together. “Miss Mantine, will you listen? You needn’t come closer to me. Simply close your eyes, relax, and picture your faelock. See Leke in your heart and mind.”
“Fine, if that means I can be done with this blasted reunion, go ahead.” She sat against the door, closed her eyes, and held my memory in the front of her mind.
“Micah is precious. All nations will try to use him. Leke, you alone will save him. Trust the Alafor now. Do not trust anything of them from the past. All right, Jessica, repeat all that in your heart. Feel it deep, try to ache yourself. Think of how she does not love you and never will, as you repeat it.” Aldrious grew quiet and was surprised she didn’t lash out at him. He continued, “Leke, the Families Five are the answer, and Micah is the cure. Keep him close, form your bond deep and quickly.” Aldrious paused again, desperately hoping she was reaching me.
She was actually getting into my heart slightly. I was in the royal reading room studying some maps when my chest throbbed. I suddenly felt a need to switch my research. I lunged toward the most ancient texts, pulling out a heretical piece on the Families Five. I felt Jessica hurting for me, and it made me feel ill. I felt her telling me Micah clearly, and the rest was vague whispers of what he spoke.
“Casperland is not the answer. It is in danger. Set your sights to the Startspring. Leke, I am sorry.” With that, Aldrious was done. He was completely silent and covered his face.
Jess finished her repetition and was able to make herself hurt enough to force tears from her eyes. These masochistic thoughts made Aldrious’s last words clear as day in my heart. They were so plain to me, I wrote them on the ancient book I was reading just as they are written above, with one difference. Instead, it said “Leke, Aldrious is sorry.” I ripped the page quickly, disgusted at myself for desecrating such a precious artifact. That didn’t stop me from writing down the first part of the message on the back of it. The damage was done, and I thought it better I not forget anything.
In the midst of Aldrious’s silence, the door was kicked in. Jess was flung hard to the floor. The cat puffed up huge and jumped out the window, and from the loud thud, I assume Winston followed it. Three shiny Enox soldiers waltzed in, assisted by two monks. “Cardinal Aldrious, you are hereby convicted of high treason and murder of the crowned prince,” called one of the monks. The voice was smooth and happy, quite like Aldrious’s own.
Jess felt her heart stop. Was this the end for all of them? She was strangely thankful they had run into Aldrious. Were she to die, at least she had passed an important message for the prince. She could be struck down by the enemy a hero, not just the helpless girl they left behind at the bar.
The soldiers paid no attention to Jess, nor Ari. They lifted the fallen cardinal easily off the floor, placing a burlap bag over his face and pushing him toward the door. They seemed to avoid even looking at my comrade and her friend; that is how little they mattered.
The second monk, a bishop, took his turn to mock Aldrious. “We are taking you back to Enox for your execution. The archbishop has been salivating at the idea of hacking off your head for the last decade. I cannot wait to deliver you to him, at last.”
“Jessica, Camilla is a traitor; Camilla lied. Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!” Aldrious’s screams were muffled from the bag. He was quickly knocked unconscious, silencing the noise for good.
Jess took his cue and threw me her pain once again. Her fear and anxiety amplified the thoughts she passed tenfold. She never knew of Camilla—not even a passing notion did I share with her. Hearing her feel that name into my brain, I knew I had never ceased being a fool. The sanity I thought I regained in her presence was simple manipulation.
As quickly as the commotion appeared, it was gone. They left, truly caring nothing for the other two, Aldrious was their one target. Had they recognized Arrikos, they may have wanted him too, yet he looked quite distant from the opulent nobleman they knew. They heard the scraping metal from the knights in the distance as they descended. Following it was the terror of the townsfolk reacting to the presence of foreign soldiers in their home.
Jessica picked herself up from the floor and dusted herself off. She could see none of the filth on her, but she could feel it. She was ready to lay into Ari, Loretta, Arrikos, whoever the hell that person was. Before she could unleash her rage, she saw he was completely distraught.
Tears were falling down Ari’s face, revealing the bits of mascara he hadn’t quite gotten off before they were washed away as well. He was heaving, he felt sick, and he could hardly breathe. This was a terrible idea…. What did I think I could do here, anyways? he thought, clenching his nails into the palms of his hands.
“Let’s go back home, Loretta.” Jess held a hand down, ready to get her to her feet and off to the inn. “And I mean Loretta. I do not care much for Ari. Good-bye Winston, wherever you are! Keep up the good work!”
“I… I still have my job?” Loretta sputtered out between loud hiccups.
“Of course, you are the best maid in the world. That, and I can see you have strong hands. I truly need a shoulder rub after today.”
She was smiling as they walked, helping Ari to recover slowly from the traumatic reunion. They got themselves out of the Northwest borough within minutes, happily emerging into the familiar slums of Westend.
“I am very sorry for all that. He is a disgusting, vile creature, which is why I didn’t say anything before. He brings out my very worst. You must think I am just as awful. I am the inbred loon, Arrikos the XXI, after all.”
“Arrikos, I do not know. I may have seen glimpses today, but for the most part I just saw a pair of siblings with a rather bizarre relationship. That does not matter, for it is Loretta I hired. She is my dear friend and definitely no one’s brother. Let us leave Ari and Aldy behind in that filthy loft.”
Loretta grabbed her hand, stopping her diligent march. Jess turned and was sad to see tears still falling. Before Jess could say anything, she was embraced hard. “You are truly the sweetest creature to walk this globe. Thank you for understanding. You are the only one who does.”
Jess stared in her eyes, a man’s face but a kind woman’s heart glowing back at her. She saw Loretta was desperately debating whether to lay a kiss on her or not. Jess was flattered but simply gave her another hug before pulling her down the road. “I’m starving! Roland is probably asleep at his post. Let’s make sure we haven’t gotten robbed!”
“Let’s!” Loretta cried gleefully, thankful she had crossed no lines.
They made it back to the lodge by nightfall. To their surprise, Roland was not asleep. In fact, he had cooked them dinner. It was burnt and inedible but still quite a kind gesture.
Their night had a genial end; the three friends drank and ate scraps until midnight. I, on the other hand, had horrible chest pains and barely slept. Aldrious was placed in shackles; his neck, arms, and legs were bound to the point that circulation practically ceased. He was snapped back to consciousness each time he dozed off by a studded flail to the face. Loretta, Jessica, and Roland had happy dreams enough to make up for Aldrious’s and my lack thereof. Knowing the cardinal got what he deserved allowed them to sleep happily for many moons to follow, even if his good-bye was a bit complicated.
Chapter 18
May 13th, 989
“OI, ZAN, you awlright?” Shemmy called to my brother, near the end of their last full day of travel. He had been walking ahead o
f them all since leaving Param two days earlier. He had barely spoken, and he paid no attention to Shemmy. She forced her horse to catch up to him. She was lonely and quite through giving him his space.
“No, and I don’t want to hear any of your stupidity right now.” He would not slow nor look at her.
“Geez, who shat in your stew?”
“Did you not hear me? I don’t want your obnoxious voice in my ears, dammit!” He reached to shake her but stopped himself. He was not mad at her. He was upset at Micah, at Billiam, and at himself.
This leg of their trek had been nothing but white and gray. The thin, naked trees were thick, and the path was rocky; however, the lack of vegetation made the landscape look blank and endless. The monotony, the cold, the loneliness around him and within him were creating an aching pit in his stomach. He didn’t want to speak; he was so empty already. He felt if he let his words, his air out, his body would just collapse. He couldn’t tell Shemmy this. These were his real feelings, the ones he thought didn’t make sense and couldn’t be related to.
“Pfft, dinnae fink you’d had enough ’bloom to be wifdrawlin’…. Seems like it, though, moody for no reason like a damn junky.”
“No reason?” he asked her pointedly, stopping his march at once and locking his eyes with hers. He had reason, he was empty, and he was going to crumble apart. The only thing he was ever certain he wanted would never be his. Why did he not tell her that? He finally showed her feeling, but he made himself angry when he wasn’t. He was heartbroken, which is what he should’ve shown her. She could have actually helped him with that, I think.
“Aye, I said no bloody reason. Ain’t nuffin’ changed except you gettin’ a scoldin’ the other day. Well I got one too, so get over it. Some fockin’ warrior you is, hurt by the tantrums of a child.” She did not respond well to undue rage and would serve it back to him tenfold.
My brother began laughing, quietly at first, though it grew deranged as Billiam and Micah drew nearer. “Are you both stupid and blind, Shemmy?”
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