by Joe Jackson
Kari shook her head. “Wait, start at the beginning, because that makes no sense at all. Why would Jason steal records from a tomb he could’ve had opened with a single command?”
The werewolf pursed her lips. “That was the whole point of it being an inside job, Kari: So no one would know Jason was after the records. He obviously didn’t want anyone asking why he was after them, what they contained, or what he planned to do with them. I haven’t read all of it, but what’s in these records… it’d be embarrassing for your Order if it ever got out.”
“What’s this about?” Kyrie asked.
The demonhunter sighed. “My Order was involved in destroying the seterra-rir, Mom. Apparently, Turik Jalar was on Mehr’Durillia when it happened, and he dealt with those who ordered the attacks when he got back.”
“You could say that,” Gil commented, gesturing toward the stack. “There’s about a dozen writs of execution in there.”
“Writs of execution?” Kari echoed, hardly believing what she’d just heard.
“Apparently, Turik Jalar didn’t mess around.”
“No, all accounts point to him being the Avatar of Vengeance in more than just title,” Kari agreed. She met Gil’s gaze. “Where were you last night? Were you here, helping to defend the city at all?”
Gil shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t have been much help without using my gift, and with Mehr’Durillians or whatever invading, that would more than likely have gotten me killed.”
“I’m still trying to figure out why Jason would have stolen the records,” Kyrie mused. “Could there be something in there that was related to the many things he had our friends work on at the time?”
It was as though someone had whispered into Kari’s mind, the thought came so suddenly. “By the gods,” she said. “That’s it. That’s the connection. Eli and Danilynn had half of it, and now these records provide the other half…”
“Other half of what?”
“Jason Bosimar was mated to a seterra-rir: Jori-an Stormrider. And he must have wanted these records to force the Order to… repent, I guess you’d say.”
“Oh, wow,” Gil said, letting forth a low whistle.
“I can finish his work,” Kari whispered. “But is that ever going to take a lot of time and effort. I have to read through all these records before I can even think about telling anyone all of this. I assume I don’t need to ask you two to keep it quiet for the time being?”
“I’m pretty good at keeping secrets, if you didn’t already know,” Gil quipped.
“Yes, it does seem to come with knowing my daughter-in-law, doesn’t it?” Kyrie put in with a wry smile, but then she shook her head. “Or being a werewolf, I suppose.”
Gil laughed.
“Have you noticed all the Blood Order people prowling the streets?” Kari asked the werewolf. “They’re not completely uncommon during daylight hours, but they tend to be a lot less conspicuous.”
“Something definitely has them shaken,” Gil agreed. “Normally I’d think they’re either trying to rebuild after last night or else make some power move, but judging by their scents, they’re scared. Something’s got them spooked, and they’re trying to root out whatever it is.”
“Just be careful; if they’re afraid, they may start digging into secrets, and like you said, you’ve got quite a few of them.”
“Don’t we all?”
Kari held up the sheaf of papers. “Apparently.”
“So, you went back to Mehr’Durillia?”
“Yes,” Kari answered. “Killed some demon princes, had sex with a demon king, and caused all sorts of mayhem for the rest of the kings.” Both women stared at her wide-eyed, and the demonhunter shrugged. “Eh, someone was bound to tell her anyway. It’s a long story, Gil. One I’ll be happy to tell all of you when our friends get back from there.”
“Your friends went there too? Why? And who went?”
Kari sighed when Kyrie bit her lower lip. “Erik was captured while there, and now our friends have all gone to try to rescue him. Only reason I’m still here is I’m in terrible shape after all the running around and fighting from my own trip there. But, as you can see, I have plenty to keep me busy in the meantime.”
“No doubt.”
“Wish you’d come and seen me earlier, maybe I’d have sent you with them.”
“My answer on that is still hell no,” Gil returned. Kari and Kyrie laughed with her. “Well, I hate to be rude, but there’s something I need to look into about now, so I have to leave the two of you. We’ll talk again soon. Kyrie, it was nice to see you again.”
“And you as well, Gillian,” the priestess said with a smile.
Gil rose and departed, and Kari looked back down at the pile of papers in her hand.
“What are you thinking?” Kyrie asked.
Kari shook her head. “Honestly? That sleeping with Morduri wasn’t this complicated.”
It did her heart wonders to hear the barking laugh of her mother-in-law, so drastically different than the argumentative tone from earlier.
And that was to say nothing of the evasive laugh of a mallestrem child in her mind…
Chapter VI – Casualties
Despite Kari’s intentions, others had already been assigned to make notification to the families of all those killed in the prior night’s attacks. A lot of the running around was being shifted away from Kari in light of her physical condition, but there was still one notification she insisted she take care of herself. After resting and having something to eat, she took Albrecht Allerius’ tags and made her way into the southwest section of the city, where his family made their abode.
The day was passing quickly, and Kari could scarcely believe how many things were coming up in the wake of the attack. She felt like she was caught in a current, being dragged away from all the things she thought she should be taking care of and into darker, uncharted waters. She wanted to go speak with Albrecht’s wife – who had no doubt at least been informed of her husband’s death – and speak to the woman personally, but there was no denying it: What Kari wanted most was to go through Turik Jalar’s records.
There’ll be plenty of time for that if I don’t let myself heal, Kari thought ruefully. She couldn’t figure out why her Sakkrass-granted regeneration wasn’t working, or at least not on this particular set of injuries. In truth, though, despite how much she wanted to be a part of rescuing Erik and possibly confronting Curlamanx, she was glad to have five minutes to rest. What she’d been doing for the past several hours, though, hardly constituted rest except when juxtaposed with what she’d been doing for the prior month and more.
A pair of obvious members of the Blood Order dashed down one of the side streets, which got Kari’s attention, raising her hackles a bit. She hadn’t seen Eryn since returning, but if something was spooking the Guild, that wasn’t surprising. It would be surprising if Eryn actually told Kari anything. The woman may have been akin to a sister-in-law to Kari in some ways, but that loyalty to the Guild still always came first. Which, when Kari considered the likelihood that Eryn might be killed by her own people for talking, also wasn’t surprising.
Kari wanted to quicken her pace and lessen the number of things distracting her from what she was on her way to do, but her body wouldn’t cooperate. She could only imagine how much worse it would be tomorrow, when the soreness and fatigue of today’s battle settled in. It was going to be a long couple of weeks, trying to recuperate while taking care of these smaller, more administrative problems and worrying about her friends and family.
The Allerius house was modest for a family of five, located in the heavily-populated southwest of the city. There wasn’t much property, but as Kari turned up the road toward the home, she could see that the streets here saw much less traffic. Accordingly, there were kids of all ages playing in the roads when there weren’t yards for them to play in. There was a street soccer game going on, and Kari couldn’t help but smile. Despite all the destruction and the heartache that came
with it, life went on. There wasn’t any other choice. Still, she had to honor her friend, and she passed through the games as unobtrusively as she could.
Reaching the home, Kari took in a deep breath and sighed. Almost as if expecting her, the entire family was out in the front yard. Lucille didn’t even say anything, she simply rose from her front step and embraced Kari when the two met. She was a little older than Albrecht had been, in her upper forties if Kari remembered right, but she still had the spark of fire in her emerald eyes, luster in her long, ivory hair, and her beauty hadn’t really begun to show her years.
Kari held the woman through her crying, and the demonhunter joined in her tears. Her friends’ children, all teens, comforted their mother, but Kari could see the pain they tried so hard to hide. Unexpected death was always a possibility in the life of a demonhunter, but for one who taught or worked administratively on the campus, Kari imagined their families didn’t think they would ever be in danger. Albrecht hadn’t engaged in anything particularly dangerous since the end of the Apocalypse, but the prior night’s events proved that diligence was always required.
“Lucille, I don’t even know what to say,” Kari whispered into her friend’s hair.
The woman didn’t answer for some time, during which she maintained their embrace. “I don’t either,” she finally managed shakily. “But if there was a violent way he’d have wanted to go, defending this city and its people would have been it.”
“I brought you his tags to keep,” Kari said. “Did the others make arrangements with you for the funeral?”
Lucille nodded, then gestured toward the door. She had to take a deep breath before she found her voice again. “Let’s go inside and have some tea. Do you mind?”
“I’m here for as long as you need me,” Kari answered. “My mother-in-law is watching the children.”
That actually made the woman smile through her teary eyes, and she looked around at her three boys. She didn’t say anything, but finally led everyone else into the house.
“Ma’am, how old do I have to be to apply to the Order?” the eldest of her boys asked when Kari took a seat at the table.
The demonhunter looked to Lucille, but actually found the woman smiling again. “He knows the answer already, Kari, he just hopes you’ll give him a different one than his father always did.”
Kari laid her hand on the woman’s shoulder as mentioning her husband brought fresh tears. Kari was honestly shocked by how well Lucille was holding up. The problem was, she wasn’t sure what Albrecht typically told his son, and she didn’t know how old any of his sons were. She was afraid of saying the wrong thing; did Lucille not want any of her children to ever be affiliated with the Order that had been the death of her husband? Or would she be proud if one of her sons followed in his father’s footsteps?
“Seventeen,” Kari answered at last, and the teen nodded with a slight grimace. “If you want to come by the campus some time and have a look around, let me know. I’m going to be really busy for a few days at least, but I’d like to show you what your father helped build.”
“Were you and my dad close?”
Kari had to blink away tears, but smiling helped. “Your father was like a brother to me,” she said, glancing at each of the teens. “He taught me just about everything I know about how to run the Order and actually lead it. Taking over the command of the Order from him was one of the proudest days of my life, but at the same time, I knew I could never replace him. He led our people through the Apocalypse and the rebuilding after. Now… I have to use everything he taught me to rebuild in the wake of his loss.”
“He always spoke so highly of you,” Lucille said. “He used to talk about you even before you… well, before you were resurrected. You were one of his idols, you and Turik Jalar, and more than once, he told me that you two were his primary inspirations to join the Order. And after you were resurrected… gods, that night he came home after meeting you for the first time, when you’d just returned from Tsalbrin… the only times I’d ever seen him so excited were when I accepted his proposal, and when we had our children.”
“That’s actually surprising to hear. He was always so professional. I knew he admired me, but I never got that awestruck reaction from him like I still do from a lot of the cadets. We were both long-time veterans by the time we met, and I think that shaped the way we looked at each other, and how our working relationship developed, especially once I got pregnant.”
Kari turned to face the widow squarely. “Lucille, you know you’ll receive the pension, and if you need anything from me personally, just ask.”
“I hear tell your house was burned down, though. I think we all have enough troubles of our own without imposing on–”
“No, no,” the demonhunter interrupted. “Don’t try to be superhuman. Your husband was a part of something big, Lucille: a massive family that takes care of its own. I know nothing I can say will bring him back or ease your pain.” She had to wipe her own tears away, trying to hold the woman’s stare. “But you are still a part of our family. And if your boys want to join our family directly, and you’re all right with that, I’ll mold them into men Albrecht would have been proud to lead.”
The widow looked up at her sons, and they went to her unbidden, wrapping their mother in tight hugs. It seemed to Kari that the grief hadn’t hit them completely yet, like they thought they might be dreaming or would be told there was a mistake. Then again, this was part of being a demonhunter: The ever-present risk of death. Perhaps, despite his position on the campus, they had never set aside that knowledge.
“Mom, you know it’s what Dad would have wanted,” the eldest said. Kari bit her lower lip, slightly embarrassed that she didn’t know Albrecht’s boys by name, even four years later.
Kari drew out Albrecht’s tags and presented them to his widow. “These are for you. Whenever you’re ready, you can come to the campus and take whatever personal effects from his office you’d like. The rest I’ll keep to set up a memorial on campus for him. But take your time, Lucille.”
The widow nodded, still clutching at her boys, particularly the eldest. “Mason, if you want to follow your father’s footsteps, you have my blessing. Just please, promise me that if you do, it’s because you want to be a demonhunter, and not to go looking for vengeance.”
“I know, Mom,” the eldest said. “I figure Kari will get revenge before I’ve even taken the oath to start my training.”
“Lady Vanador,” his mother corrected.
The demonhunter waved that off quickly. “Kari is fine. Like I said, we’re all family.” She turned to meet Mason’s gaze then, and let a bit of mischief show through in hers. “At least until I’ve got you under my command, young man.”
Mason laughed, and Lucille managed a half-sob, half-chuckle with him. “Dietrich, go and get your father’s old tournament trophy from the bedroom, would you?”
The middle of the teen boys took the stairs two at a time, and returned in moments with a large, decorative trophy topped by a bronze rir warrior brandishing a sword.
“What’s this?” Kari asked, having never seen its like nor heard of it before.
Lucille held the trophy and ran her clawed fingers over the placard at the bottom. “Back before the Apocalypse, the duke used to organize fighting tournaments. I think he used to do it to try to showcase his son’s fighting prowess, but Jason was usually loath to enter competitions, particularly once he became Avatar. When Albrecht was younger, he offered to represent the Order in one of the duke’s tournaments, and emerged victorious.” The woman sobbed again, but it turned into laughter. “It was what finally prompted him to propose to me.”
“Albrecht won a sword-fighting tournament?” Kari said in wonder. She knew her friend was a great hunter, but there was a marked difference between fighting in the field and dueling in contests of showmanship. Suler had taught her that, many times over. What Kari did when she was out hunting demons might not translate to arena combat, wherein she w
ould use an entirely different set of tactics that Suler taught her. She wondered how she would fare in such a display, and whether she could bring pride to her old lover’s name.
“Oh, this was no sword-fighting contest,” Lucille said. “It was an invitational event. Any style, any weapon, any race, any kingdom. Duke Bosimar attracted some of the best and brightest from around the world to come compete in his old tournaments. It’s honestly a shame he doesn’t organize them anymore. You got to see and meet some interesting people when he invited foreigners. Used to see the occasional bakatur or even fures-rir come to compete.”
“That must have been a sight. Did you ever meet any of the bakatur?”
“Oh, good heavens, no,” Lucille said. “Most of those who came thought of us as unclean animals, and only came to prove the superiority of their warriors. Amusingly, I don’t think any of them ever won the tournaments. But they didn’t like speaking to our people very much, so the crowds tended to avoid them – and bet against them. I think the most interesting fighter I ever saw – apart from my husband, that is – was a seterra-rir woman named–”
“Jori-an Stormrider?”
Lucille scrunched up her brow. “No, not the mercenary,” she said, obviously surprised to find that Jori-an was seterra-rir. “No, it was a woman from the Terrassian city of Awlsaber named Scarlett Masters. She fought unarmed, if you can believe that, and actually got quite far in the tournament both times she was invited. I heard she was a prize fighter in the arena of Awlsaber – some bareknuckle champion, though, not a swordfighter. Once she got deeper in the tournaments, she’d have to use weapons, but she wasn’t skilled enough to beat the upper echelon with a sword. Still… the fact that she was skilled enough with her bare hands to beat armed and armored opponents was only made more impressive by the fact that she was seterra-rir.”
“Yeah, they’re rather scarce,” Kari commented dryly, considering that there might be a small population of them on Terrassia, hiding in plain sight.
