by Reiter
“Take it easy,” the woman said as she moved to take hold of his shoulder and pat him on the back. “Are you all right?”
“I am fine my dear,” he replied. “Just getting old and forgetful.”
“Here, let me help you,” she said, as she straightened his robes. “I guess you could say we got off on a very bad start.”
“Oh, I d–” taking hold of the lapels, the woman brought Freund’s face forward into a head bunt. She did it two more times before sweeping his feet and throwing him to the ground.
“And I believe that takes us back to even,” she said, pulling Freund up from the floor. This time she really did straighten his clothes. “The name’s Lark… officially Stellark, and yes, I get it because I am a Star Bird! But if you call me Stellark we will have to revisit this little discussion over and over again. Do you understand me?”
“I believe the phrase is crystal clear!”
“Good! So glad you don’t have that ‘I’m old and can’t hear shit’ thing goin’ on!
“Now, I’m one of those collected souls,” Lark continued and Freund started to nod in acknowledgement.
Zeu Rex and his family had the worst habit of taking in lost individuals who had tried to put forward some measure of harm toward them and their many campaigns. They would collect them and break them down, rebuilding them into formidable creatures with a broadened perspective. More often than not they were not very successful in their aims, but their failures did nothing to hinder their efforts. This one appeared as if she had been in the processes of reformation for some time.
“And obviously you know what that means,” she continued. “ I guess you could say that I was put into cold storage until such time that you were without your daughter... for whatever reason that might be. Talk about your slender windows of opportunity! Anyway, I look after you, save your life, and the moment you’re done with me, I can live my own life again. Didya get all of that, grandpa?”
“All of what, Stellark?” Freund asked and he could not hold a straight face. His genuine laughter softened Lark to the point where she smiled.
“You like pushing buttons, dontcha?”
“Is there any sweeter fruit on the branch?” Freund asked. He took hold of the woman’s hand and though she braced herself for a fight, he shook her hand and smiled. “I am Freund. Welcome to my abode, Lark. Let us hope your stay is not too long.”
“Good to meet you, did you say Freund?”
“Yes I did. Why?”
“Isn’t that Old Earth German for friend?”
“And I am learning so much about you as well, Lark,” Freund replied. “Sol languages are nearly a thing of the forgotten past, except in very specific regions. You must have been raised there, or have traveled with a native of the area.
“Number two,” Lark replied, looking around the castle. “He was my first… everything, actually. He was a thief, just not a very good one. He died on the job and the guy who killed him took ownership of me. I changed hands so many times I lost count, but my last gig was against a Polaris Corpsman who had been forced into retirement. I figured, how hard could it be?”
“Damn hard when that same man has become a Light Priest by the name of Chiaro!” Freund answered. “So that is where you received the shape shifting ability, correct?”
“Bull’s eye, along with a few other tricks,” Lark said in what was clearly a very fond reflection. “But he never took ownership of me,” she added. “I only stayed with him because I wanted to, and it wasn’t like he was demanding any sort of payment, if you know what I mean.
“Then one day, there’s a knock at the door and your typical evil sorcerer comes in, looking for me and the blood-debt I owe.”
“Something you failed to tell Chiaro about,” Freund guessed.
“Didn’t stop him from taking up my fight though,” Lark replied, walking over to fetch a chair. “So I told him that I wanted to return the favor. He said it wouldn’t be easy and it would more than likely kill me. Sounded like a sweet gig. My whole world had become nothing but ‘scrape and ache’ anyway. At least this way I became a thing of light… his light. So here I am. I figured if I could sneak up on you and take you, then there wouldn’t be much to me doing this.”
“And?”
“You’re actually a little cagier than he described,” Lark smiled. “That whole moving wall bit was classy. You didn’t even break a sweat, did you?”
“I swear to you I was on the very verge of doing so,” Freund stated.
“Yeah, he also said you were an adorable asshole; emphasis on adorable and asshole!”
“So glad not to disappoint,” Freund said, taking a seat. “So what comes next?”
“You bring me up to speed and–” a flash of light from Freund’s eyes was matched by the one coming from Lark’s. It lasted only two seconds, and all four points of light dimmed at the same time. Lark was breathing deeply and shaking from the feed, but there was nothing Freund withheld and Lark was able to see exactly what the old blind one was about. “Holy shit!” she panted. “Man, does that guy have a thing for the understatement!” With that she breathed in deep and held it for a few seconds before breathing out slow. She walked for the balcony and opened the doors. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Lark advised.
“Happy hunting, Lark.”
“And Master Freund, a thing of light is a thing of light,” Lark stressed. “With all that is on the line, you should face nothing alone. If you need me, call. I will come!”
“I have every intention of calling you when I need to, Lark,” Freund nodded. “But please bear in mind that what you are about to do is also imperative, and it too must be given wide berth.” Lark simply nodded, knowing that even though he was without sight, he would be aware of her silent acknowledgement. She ran out on the balcony, transformed into a Star Lark and flew off in a streak of living light!
“Well, isn’t that something!” Freund said as he returned his attention to the board. “I give one aspiring genius of an Adonis my daughter’s hand in marriage, he leaves me with flowers that bloom, then die, only to bloom again. I assist a friend of his and give him the simplest of suggestions, taking him from a super-gadget-engineering and wielding Space Marine to a Light Priest, and he leaves me a Herald! I’m not sure about everyone, but for one of the family I’m cancelling Christmas!”
** b *** t *** o *** r **
It was an unaccustomed feeling: uncertainty. Though in retrospect, she knew she should have expected the sensation to register sooner or later. Just as she had always been told the pinnacle of their movement would come well after her lifetime, Aleesha had maintained a measure of hope that her masters and mistresses could have been wrong. That measure waned a little with the appearance of each gray hair. It had been, after all, the story of her life: wrong place… wrong time.
Her faith in her significance within the movement, however, had never been in question. “I may not live long enough to see it,” Aleesha thought as the body was lifted from the waters. “… but it is coming, and very soon! The way must be prepared and if that is to be my legacy, the path is assured!
“How is he?” she asked.
“We were getting life signs an hour ago,” the doctor reported. “I think he may be strong enough now for us to revive him.”
“Doctor, I don’t need your thoughts or statements of potential. I can get that from any bartender! What I need from you are facts. So, recognize that if your patient dies, he will have company.”
“I understand, Mistress Aleesha!”
“Next you’re going to say that good help is hard to find, right?” Kaila said as she walked up behind Aleesha. She could tell by the way the woman moved she had once again startled her.
“All that power,” Kaila thought, “and you still don’t have an inkling on how to watch your back. Oh well, I suppose if people like her did I’d be out of a job!”
“One, you make it sound like a pointless cliché,” Aleesha replied. “Two, you speak
as if you are the exception to the cliché. And three, you’re beginning to make a bad habit of underestimating people. One surprising success against an entity does not make you an authority on any issue, and even less an expert. Things fall through the cracks – that is their purpose.”
“I see someone got their flowers this morning,” Kaila jested, looking at the nervous young man who had thought accepting a position as a physician for Aleesha Ellen Wohler was a step in the right direction for his career. “Let me guess, allergies?”
“Do you have a reason for being here?” Aleesha asked before taking her seat.
“What do you mean, do I have a reason?” Kaila replied, looking confused. “You told me to bring the kid at once!”
“I did no such thing!” Aleesha said, quickly standing up. Kaila’s confused face broke into a smile as she chuckled.
“I know… just checking.” Kaila continued to chuckle while Aleesha’s eyes flared with ire. “You know these days you can never be too sure! The kid’s still cooking and neatly tucked away. “You need to take it easy, Aleesha,” Kaila said in a calm and even tone. Aleesha’s head snapped around to look at the slender blonde woman. “Sorry, Mistress Wohler and First of the Five.”
“You would be doing yourself a favor by telling me why you are here and then be on your way,” Aleesha warned. She would be among the first to credit Kaila Montrose as being useful… in the field!
“My Mistress!” the doctor called up, with a very relieved smile spread wide across his face. “It worked! It really worked! He’s waking up!”
“Careful, physician, your voice denotes doubt,” Aleesha commented as she started down the steps to the side of the bath. “The Waters of Xaythra come directly from our Goddess. If they had failed to revive Jovis, it would have only been because our Goddess found him wanting of worth.
“Stand him up” Aleesha commanded.
“But he’s–” a thin black light burned the very tip of the doctor’s right earlobe and he winced in pain, clutching at the side of his face. Aleesha turned to the source of the energy burst only to see Kaila twirling her pistol before sliding the weapon back into its low-hanging holster.
“The Mistress gave you a directive,” Kaila said coldly. “I didn’t hear a petition for your input, did you?” Aleesha’s brow lifted in surprise as she looked at the orange eyes of Kaila as they slowly returned to their normal blue color. She tilted her head to one side and Kaila’s shoulder’s shrugged. “What can I say? Giving you a hard time is my job. Last thing I want is some numb-nut cramping my style.
“And that idiot is probably too stupid to realize that I just saved his life,” Kaila thought.
Aleesha could not suppress her chuckle and she nodded as she turned back to the bath. The doctor had already motioned for his assistants to pick up the coughing man.
“Jovis,” Aleesha called to the man as he struggled to breathe. She waited only a moment before pressing her lips together and placing her hands on her hips. “Chevalier, can you hear me?!”
“I-I-I hear you,” Jovis coughed. “I hear you, my Mistress.” Pulling his arms free of the two men who had lifted the Chevalier from the floor, Jovis dropped to his knees. “And I have failed you, gracious Lady. Isse and Zerrell Rex defeated me and my men. I myself was driven from the site of battle… and…” Jovis lowered his head as he remembered what the so-called boy had done to him, using the Chevalier’s own power to do it!
“You faced the son of Zeu Rex, Jovis Kanthayar,” Aleesha stated. “It has long been suspected that his childlike form is one of choice and not his true age.”
“And still you sent good men just to find that out?!” Kaila thought before her body exploded into action. Her back kick was of the speed to make a crisp yet soft cutting sound. Her technique did not prevent her leg from being caught at the ankle and calf.
“Oh, very good, assassin,” Survaysi said before slinging Kaila toward the wall.
Riding on the air, Kaila grunted as she pushed her body to fold and flip. Her boots landed hard against the wall and her knees bent to the point to where Kaila could put both hands against the stone. She jumped from the wall and landed on her feet before immediately bowing to the Second of the Five.
“It would seem, Mistress Aleesha, that she is an authority on several matters,” Survaysi said, smiling at Kaila’s prowess. “See to it that your perspective is amended.”
“May your wisdom always guide me, my Mistress,” Aleesha said as she bowed deeply.
“Nonsense,” Survaysi argued. “It isn’t as if my student can keep herself from pressing you at every turn. I am sure that will be addressed with the same speed and efficiency.” The tall, muscle-bound woman lifted her right eyebrow as she looked at Kaila.
“Consider it fully addressed, Sensei!” Kaila replied sharply.
“Upon whose order was this man taken from the field of battle and restored?” the Second of Five inquired as she approached Jovis.
“He was the lead of the attack party assigned to intercept and destroy the daughter and grandson of Freund,” Aleesha explained.
“An attack that failed!” Survaysi pointed out.
“We sent mortal men to face the very essence of gods!” Aleesha returned. “They set about their duties without doubt or fear.”
“And how smart was that?” Kaila thought.
“I appealed to the Goddess for direction when I felt them falling. Jovis was delivered to us by the Ethereal Waters.”
Survaysi walked up to the Chevalier and lifted him from his prone position with one hand. Kaila winced at the display of unbelievable strength, realizing the toss she had experienced was not the full capability of her teacher.
“If the Goddess delivered him, there is to be no question,” Survaysi declared.
“Praise to the Goddess and her Chosen Five,” Gregoran said as he entered the chamber.
“It seems we are beset with failures today,” Survaysi remarked, handing Jovis over to the physician and his assistants. When they took the Chevalier, they were reminded that underneath his robes was his armour, and the man would have been considered heavy had he been naked! The assistants looked at each other, acknowledging the one-handed lift and hold the Second of Five had performed. “Why is it that I doubt the Goddess delivered you back to us, High Priest?”
“While we are all in need of our Goddess’ grace,” Gregoran started, speaking louder than was necessary and dusting off his robes. “… especially in the company of entities… some of us can manage with our own tenaciousness for life and living.”
“And your escorts?” Survaysi asked, looking around the High Priest. “I believe they were Chevaliers, were they not?”
“Indeed they were,” Gregoran answered before looking down. “Tragically, they were not nearly as resourceful. I trust they were not called to the Waters?”
“Apparently not,” the Second of Five replied, shaking her head as Aleesha approached the edge of the bath. She looked into the waters as they swirled about under their own power. Her face twisted slightly, registering both confusion and disbelief.
“I can’t see them,” Aleesha reported. “I can see their approach to the dwelling of the sightless one, but nothing after you were disciplined, Priest, and their entry into his castle.” All eyes turned to Aleesha as she slowly backed away from the waters. “I don’t understand it.”
“What you do not understand is the very reason why I am here!” Gregoran asserted. “We have grossly underestimated Freund. He may not be a god, but he travels well in the circles of deities and he has learned many tricks, such as how to syphon off and consume the power of faith!”
“Freund can manipulate KaA?” Survaysi asked, not wanting to believe the possibility.
“He certainly manipulated mine!” High Priest Killington testified. “I struck him with the Blade of KaA and he survived the assault. He was tearing through my mind when my Chevaliers attacked. I called for our retreat, but they could not follow me out.”
�
�Were you struck at all?” Survaysi inquired.
“Only my mind was attacked.” Gregoran started walking away from the large bath, consumed with his reflection. “I bled from my nose and ear due to the torment he levied against me.” Survaysi breathed more easily as the High Priest continued. “I tell you, even with his wards and locks, it was my faith that kept me alive and strong!”
“I should say so,” Aleesha agreed, approaching the Priest. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a soft massage. “The both of you have earned a respite for what you have done for the Goddess. Doctor, take them to the infirmary and see to it that they rest.”
“As you will, my Mistress,” the young doctor said, giving his assistants a silent cue to help him get the men out of the chamber as soon as possible.
The mood left behind was of greater variety than some might have assumed. Kaila was beginning to realize the accuracy of Aleesha’s earlier statement about the assassin’s good fortune when she had taken action against Freund. If the High Priest had been struck down and unable to use KaA, the name given to energized faith, Kaila’s slipping into the entity’s mind had either been allowed or she had happened along the very sort of crack Aleesha had mentioned.
“And at last we are alone,” Survaysi thought. “Now that the failing men have been removed, I am left with only capable women. It is a shame that not all of the Chosen Five are women. I would feel better about our chances against this so-called blind man. But I must take this matter to our leader. He won’t appreciate the interruption as he bathes in the power of our Goddess, but the gambit against Freund takes priority.
