by Joe Jackson
…but they were wrong.
“Arku is dead,” she stated the obvious in beshathan. “With that, you are free to return home. You will probably find your homeland in turmoil, but hopefully, your days of attacking the innocent at the command of idiots like this are over. I’m granting the three of you mercy. I expect you are able to return home with the arcane power of two mallasti?”
“Yes, Lady Vanador,” they whispered in disbelief.
“Guards!” Kari called. When the two arrived, she gestured to the cells. “Let them out and take them outside the warding. They’re going home. If they do anything aside from going home, we’ll be killing them without question, but they know that.” The guards began unlocking the cells, and Kari added, “Don’t ever make this mistake again. Granted, I still have a hard time telling your people apart, but if I ever find you’ve returned to Citaria to cause trouble, you won’t get this sort of mercy a second time.”
“We understand,” Kichok said. “Like our erestram neighbor, we now owe you a debt for our lives. I, for one, will never cause you or your people trouble again.”
“Nor will I.”
“Or I.”
“Go home, see your wives, make preparations. There’s a storm coming,” Kari said, and she gestured for the three to follow her. The guards took up the rear, but as soon as the three beshathans were outside the prison, the mallasti joined hands with their elestram companion and disappeared with a rush of wind and a pop.
“I hope that spell took them home and not somewhere else here,” one of the guards said.
Kari smirked. Did it? she asked the child in her mind.
Yes, Mama, came the reply.
“It did, don’t worry,” Kari assured the guards. She waved farewell to them, and they saluted her in return.
Kari made her way back to the temple, where Tor was waiting for her. “Thought you might like to see this, but I also have to ask you something,” she said. “I have to tell Amastri that she’s no longer welcome here. I figured after how many dealings you and your friends had with her, it was something you might appreciate. Of course, there’s also another matter related to sending her home.”
“What would that be, ma’am?”
“Whether or not I have to send you with her.”
Tor balked. “Ma’am?”
Kari made sure there was no one within earshot. “Tor, when we were in Anthraxis, we saw your mother get crowned King of Tess’Vorg. Did you know your mother was a king, or a princess, or however she was regarded before being crowned?”
“You know who my mother is?” he whispered, and Kari nodded. “Who told you? Was it Eli? It was Eli, wasn’t it?”
“He didn’t tell me, no. I figured it out based on things I saw and heard.”
“How long have you known?”
“Since a couple of weeks after the first time we met.”
Tor was confused. “And you never thought to get rid of me, knowing I allowed her to come and go as she pleased?”
“I wasn’t sure what to make of her. I’m still not, especially now that she’s a king. Tell me you’re just as surprised by this as I am?”
He started to speak, but then stopped. “But that means… that means I am a prince? And the grandson of King Emanitar?”
“Looks like,” Kari said. “Do you know anything of your mother’s plans?”
“I know very little of her at all,” Tor said with a grimace. “Finding out she is my mother was the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me, you must understand. We got to know her on several occasions, and came to trust her to some extent. I think… I understand this will sound biased now, coming from her son, but I think you can trust her, especially if she is no longer a slave to the Overking.”
“That’s what I was thinking. But I’ll leave this choice to you, Tor: Are you comfortable staying here on Citaria, acting as her breach through the barriers?”
“Yes, because if you think about it, Lady Vanador, my father was a gnoll from Talon Rock. I was born here. My mother was already here on Citaria before I was born. I don’t think I am, or ever have been, her anchor here.”
“That’s an interesting point. And I’m honestly glad. You’re a good man, Sergeant, and I know I can depend on you when things get tough. Just understand, if it turns out your mother has designs on this world, you may end up fighting her.”
He met Kari’s gaze evenly. “Then fight her I will.”
Kari clapped his shoulder. “Come on, then. Let’s go evict Amastri. Politely, of course.”
“Of course,” he laughed.
There was a call from the temple, and one of the acolytes came running across the square before Kari and Tor could leave. “Lady Vanador!” he said, panting. “A message just came in from our temple in Solaris.”
“What is it? It’s fine if the sergeant hears the message.”
“The first jade seal has been found.”
Kari blinked and turned a stunned gaze toward Tor.
“You never get five minutes to sit still, do you?” the half-mallasti asked.
“Don’t know why I’m even bothering to have another house built,” she muttered. She dismissed the acolyte. “All right, then, Sergeant: change in plans, as usual. Can you go to the docks and find a ship that will take the Silver Blades plus some other passengers to Terrassia as soon as possible?”
“Could your sister-in-law not simply take you there?”
“I don’t want whoever’s over there to see us coming,” Kari said with a shake of her head. “It’s complicated, but using arcane transportation is a quick way to alert your enemies where you’re coming or going. Sometimes we have to do things the old-fashioned way.”
“Then I will gladly handle the matter for you, ma’am.”
“Secure passage for yourself, too, if you’d like to come.”
Tor stared at her for a moment, but then saluted and made his egress. Kari watched the half-mallasti run off, and she turned back toward the city’s heart and sighed. Why had she planned to evict Amastri? If anything, the woman was proof of something: Koursturaux was not going to invade Citaria directly. Not yet, anyway. Such seemed to play into Kari’s thinking as far as whose side the Crimson Huntress was really on. The remnant of her fingers crushing Kari’s neck said otherwise, but Kari was in no hurry to make assumptions. After all, even Celigus, Emanitar, and Morduri had jumped to the Overking’s defense when Kari started to draw a sword in his presence.
I guess she gets to stay, for now, she thought. What would happen once the other five jade seals were discovered was another matter.
She returned to the house, where she spent some time with her children before and during the dinner hour. The mealtime was interesting as the others were introduced to Tarra. Kari saw that although Kyrie was surprised by Erik’s choice, she didn’t seem upset by it. Corbanis, too, appeared to be taking it all in stride, and Kari was glad to see their prejudices wearing away a bit. It was a lot to expect people to simply accept Mehr’Durillians as people rather than the demons they were thought to be for so long, but the family was handling it well.
Kari figured it would help Tarra that there was now a vulkinastra living on the campus for the time being as well. The beshathan women would at least have someone from back home to speak to if they got homesick or felt too out of place. And depending on how they viewed the syrinthians, they might all get along somewhat as off-worlders.
Once dinner was done and the children were put to bed, Kari took a much-needed bath and then retired to her room. She hadn’t even started to get dressed when the door opened, and she turned to behold Kris, making no move to cover herself. He came in wordlessly and closed the door behind him, then stripped off his shirt, trousers, and undergarments.
“What are you doing?” she asked, though she knew the answer. She just wanted and, more pointedly, needed to hear him say it.
“Not wasting another moment,” he said, and then he scooped her up and carried her over to the bed.
&nb
sp; Epilogue
Kari descended the stairs and went straight for one of the cabinets in Danilynn’s kitchen. It was still dark outside, the dawn about a half-hour away, and the house was silent in the aftermath of what were doubtless a good number of romantic evenings. If it were up to her, Kari would still be in the warm bed she’d shared with Kris the night before, but there were things she needed to take care of. It wouldn’t be long before the children were up and about, and she didn’t want to answer questions about what she was doing now.
She opened the cabinet where Danilynn kept her herbal remedies – a tiny one, owing to the priestess’ healing power and that of her friends. There, in a little glass jar, Kari found the herb she was looking for. She’d all but forgotten its bitter taste, but she chewed on it absently as she stashed the rest away and began gathering things to prepare breakfast for the children. She hadn’t taken it in a couple of years, but with everything on her mind and set before her these days, she couldn’t afford to take chances.
As much as she wanted to have children with Kris, this simply wasn’t the time.
Kari started to daydream about the mallestrem child somehow stuck in her mind, but hardly had a minute to think about it. Her hackles rose as she felt a strange presence, and she spun to look around the dark end of the kitchen. She snorted. “Take off those goggles before I take them away from you,” she said.
Aeligos chuckled before he faded into view, but his expression was anything but amused. He’d been, by Kari’s estimate, one of only two people staying in the house who hadn’t shared a bed with someone that night. Despite the fact that he’d apparently watched Kari take the birth-control herb, though, he refrained from saying anything about it. For a moment, anyway.
“Grakin would be happy for you,” he said quietly. Kari started to reply, but the rogue added, “Even with respect to your time with Morduri.”
“Look, Aeligos, about that…,” Kari started.
“Not my business, not my concern. And it doesn’t bother me, Kari. I know the Order and most of the family are still trying to understand everything that’s going on, but… well, I know a hell of a lot more than they do.”
“More than me?” Kari asked, suddenly acutely aware that Aeligos may have figured out many of the things she thought she was so clever in discovering.
He made a noncommittal gesture. “Probably on some things, not so much on others. Right now, though, I’m just wondering when Eryn was taken.”
“About a week ago,” Kari answered quietly.
“Took them long enough,” he said, moving around the baker’s counter until he stood across from her. He laid the enchanted goggles from the Wraith on the counter between them. “I guess Gil told them to wait until I was out of town, afraid I might do something stupid.”
Kari balked. “Wait, you knew Gil was…?”
“I knew she was city-born the moment I met her. She’s a damned fine infiltrator, and being a werewolf only multiplies the effect, but she couldn’t hide what she was from me. We knew what was coming some time ago.”
“We?” Kari repeated, but then she waved off the response. “Aeligos, did you know the duke was the head of the Blood Order? How much did you know about them? And how much of it did you figure out versus learning it from Eryn?”
“Eryn never told me anything,” he answered, leaning against the other counter behind him. “She never really had to. Did I know the duke was also Tarek? Yes. Why didn’t I tell you or anyone else? Because there were only so many ways this could turn out that wouldn’t be a complete disaster. If I had told you, and you’d tried to arrest and depose him, we’d have had a war on the streets, Kari. And not whatever organized operation saw them unseated while I was gone; I’m talking about an all-out war. And your Order probably would’ve lost.”
“I made a decision when we settled down here to let the duke do his thing to an extent – and pull some strings behind the scenes. I don’t know if it was my meddling that brought Gil and her people here, but I know there was a highly-skilled shapeshifter of some kind involved with them, one who was able to turn the Blood Order against itself while Gil’s people positioned themselves to begin the extermination. The best thing for getting rid of an assassin’s guild, as it turned out, was an assassin’s guild of another sort: Gil’s people. Now, the Blood Order is gone, the duke is gone with them, and there’s an uncorrupted heir to take the duke’s seat.”
“You mean Jason and Jori-an…?”
“Without a doubt. It’s the only thing that explains all the secrecy and their family hiding out on Salkorum.”
Kari shook her head, staggered by the weight of everything Aeligos already knew. “So you and Eryn knew this was coming?”
“It was only a matter of time,” he said, and he pushed the goggles toward her again. “That’s why I’m giving these back to you. They’ll be of little enough use where I’m going.”
“You’re not coming to Terrassia with us?”
“That’s what I want to do, where I want to be,” he answered, and Kari suddenly had a hard time swallowing. “If you remember what the Oracle told me, though, I have to make a choice between being where I want to be, and being where I’m needed. I know you think you need me, but not the way I’m needed where Eryn is going. At least, that’s how I see it.”
He met Kari’s eyes evenly. “They didn’t want Eryn, Kari. Well, that’s not true; they can certainly use a woman of her talents. But in the end, I think I’m the one they were really after. They knew the best way to recruit me was to recruit her first. That I’d follow her if they took her away. I hate to be so predictable and prove them right, but I can’t ignore what Kimlerin told me. There’s a reason I have to follow her. I’m not sure what it is yet, but I don’t imagine it’ll take me long to figure out.”
Kari barked a laugh. “I expect not. Good thing I have your sister to come with me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said, approaching around the counter. He took Kari’s face in his hands, and she embraced him. “Your intuition is solid. You figure out with integrity and instinct what I figure out by analytics. Sonja and the others can advise you, but you don’t need anyone to do your thinking for you, Kari.”
“I will see you again, won’t I?”
“Of course,” he answered, backing up a bit to meet her eyes. “If I don’t like what Gil’s people are all about, I’ll walk away. But I have a feeling that even if I choose to work with them, I’ll be back by your side before long. And probably with Eryn by my side, finally free to do the right thing for the right reason.”
Kari pursed her lips. “I have such a hard time figuring you out sometimes,” she said. “You’re always a step ahead of everyone else. Makes me think Erik’s girlfriend joining our poker games might be the real reason you’re leaving.” Aeligos snorted a laugh. “I shudder to think how intelligent a child you might have with an elestram.”
“Something you’ll never need to worry about,” he said evenly.
“Sorry,” Kari sighed, scratching at her snout. “When are you leaving?”
Aeligos shrugged. “I think I’ll go with you toward Terrassia, but get off at Latalex or thereabouts and make my way after Eryn.”
“I’m going to miss you.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he said. “You worry about getting that temple open. When the war comes, I’ll come back to you.”
“Good. We’re going to need you.”
“We’re going to need everyone. And I’ll see who else I can bring back with me.”
~ * ~ THE END ~ * ~
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Thank Yous & Acknowledgements
Thank you for joining me for the seventh installment of the Eve of Redemption series! Now there’s no turning back for Kari, and we see that the first of the seals for opening the Temple has been found. Exciting times lie ahead, so stay tuned!
Convergence would not be a completed work if I failed to include a list of thank-y
ous and acknowledgements. As with my previous works, a number of people have helped with this in some way, even going back to those who aided in the building of the world itself.
My highest thanks, as always, are to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has given me the time, the talent, and the wherewithal to continue this series. All the glory belongs to Him.
Editing thanks go to my wife Crystal, Katie Merrick, and Erin Groppe, all of whom give me feedback on the first drafts. Thanks also to David Christopher for beta reading and making suggestions to help make this a stronger work.
Thanks again to Richard Samanic, who introduced my friends and I to the world of AD&D, wherein the majority of this series’ world-building was accomplished. And thanks must be given once again to the players who helped me build the world up through Richard’s and my own campaigns: Robert Rothman, Pascal, Lenny, Dave, Mike Orlandi, Dave Christopher, Vincent DeBoer, Thanas Tsioplakis, Louis DeBoer, Erin Groppe, Rachel DeBoer, James Stringer, Josh, Ash, and Jesse.
Thank you to Andreas Zafeiratos for another beautiful cover image. These covers have been so perfect to show the readers just what Kari and some of the other characters look like. Thanks also to Bryce O’Connor, whose help has been instrumental in improving and marketing the series.
And, of course, thank you, my readers, for continuing to join me on these adventures. If you enjoyed this work, please consider leaving a few words (not a term paper, unless you like) in review on Amazon – every review helps!
Appendix A: The Many Unique Races of Citaria
Terra-rir (TEH-ra reer): the first of the rir, black-skinned, silver-blooded, mammalian draconic species created by Gori Sensullu. Very similar to humans in anatomy with the exception of more draconic heads, tails, and small claws on their hands and feet. They are born of a magical process which involves a pregnancy, but they have no navels.
