by Joe Jackson
“I appreciate the warm blankets, but would it have been too much to put me on a bed?”
Kyrie and Danilynn looked at each other and grimaced. “Kari, there was a lot of blood,” her mother-in-law said.
“I don’t remember being wounded…? I was wearing my paluric armor,” she said, trying to recall the events since her return. “Why was I bleeding?”
Kyrie sighed. “We’re not sure, but it was…coming from your womb.”
That could only mean one thing. Kari shook her head and groaned. “Oh, that idiot,” she said, laying her head back on the ground. This was definitely something she had no desire to try to explain now, especially not to her mother-in-law. “It’s a long story, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. Just a side effect of magic we used when I was on Mehr’Durillia.”
“What kind of magic?” Kyrie pushed, her brow scrunched up.
“Well, to keep it simple, they turned me into a mallasti for a time,” Kari explained. “But the man who did it didn’t know very much about rir. He said there might be some side effects when I changed back. I guess he wasn’t exaggerating. Is…is it all right now? Am I in any kind of danger?”
“Not anymore,” Danilynn said, moving to Kari’s other side and laying a hand on her forehead. “You were slightly anemic when they brought you back, but you’re healing extremely fast, and if you were in any danger, you’re not anymore.”
“Then I need to get back to the campus.”
“You almost bled to death! You are going nowhere,” Kyrie said.
“But Erik…”
“Your Order is full of capable warriors and tacticians, my husband not the least of them,” her mother-in-law insisted. “If you want, we’ll help you to the sitting room for some tea and to see if you can hold down some food. But you are not leaving this house before the morning.”
“All right, then,” Kari said.
Kyrie and Danilynn helped her to her feet, and she lost any will to argue with her mother-in-law. She still had virtually no strength, and her companions had to bear the bulk of her weight as they made their way down the stairs. There were a number of children in the fireplace room, and they looked up when Kari was brought down. Before the caretakers could even say a word, the children all rose and ran to the base of the stairs, surrounding Kari.
“Are you the Avatar of Vengeance?”
“Did you kill the demons that attacked the city?”
“Can I play with your swords?”
“When can I join the Demonhunter Order?”
“Children, that’s enough,” one of the caretakers said, rushing over to try herding them away from the overwhelmed demonhunter.
“It’s all right,” Kari said, trying to smile. “Sorry for stealing your room, kids. You can have it back now.”
“Ma’am?” the caretaker asked, and Kyrie nodded her assent.
Danilynn got Kari to a chair near the fireplace while Kyrie moved to the kitchen area to get a kettle to put over the fire. The caretakers began putting together some food at her request, and in just a little while, Kari was sitting wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea and a plate of crackers and cheese. She hadn’t been so pampered since she was pregnant with Uldriana, and despite all the heaviness of her heart, she had to smile.
Kyrie and Danilynn sat with her, and her mother-in-law reached over to touch Kari’s face and forehead. “Your color already looks better. And your temperature, too. You gave us all quite a scare there.”
“I knew something was wrong when I changed back to my normal form,” Kari said. “But with everything that was going on, I had to ignore it.”
“You need to pay better attention to the warnings your body gives you,” Danilynn chided her. “You heal fast and you’re probably the toughest woman I know, but that doesn’t mean you can just ignore the damage you do to yourself.”
Kari nodded, hearing a bit of Morduri’s advice echo within Danilynn’s words. “You know I’m going right back to Mehr’Durillia.”
Both women perked up at that. “I don’t know that that’s a good idea,” Kyrie said.
“You heard Taesenus. If Erik is in trouble, I know people who can help. Nobody else in the Order knows Mehr’Durillia or the infernal and beshathan languages like I do.”
“We can discuss that in the morning, ma’am,” Corbanis said as he arrived. Kari hadn’t even heard him enter the house. “For now, we’ve arranged to have a couple of hunters sent to Anthraxis to try to figure out if Erik is truly missing, and where he was taken if so.”
“Cancel that order,” Kari said. “I don’t want anyone else going there to potentially be abducted. You get hold of Kris through Kaelariel, and get him back here, and then get the Silver Blades ready to move. As soon as I can walk straight, I’m going to see our resident information gatherer, and then we’re going to go get your son from Mehr’Durillia.”
“Kari, be reasonable,” Corbanis began.
“Corbanis, if you can’t follow orders, leave your tags on the table and get out.”
“Kari!” her mother-in-law gasped.
“I will not have my orders second-guessed,” Kari said evenly. “I just spent several weeks on Mehr’Durillia, during which I killed or saw killed four of Sekassus’ sons, and the realm of Sorelizar cut in half by war. The Council is coming into session soon, which means we have only a small window of opportunity to get in and rescue Erik while whatever king has him is stuck in Anthraxis. By the time you send a couple of hunters to Anthraxis and they find anyone that will talk to them – if there’s anyone to be found – it’ll be too late.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Corbanis said stiffly. “Anything else I should pass along to the Council?”
“Not unless you’re interested in filling Lord Allerius’ position.”
“Ma’am?” he balked.
“Lord Allerius is dead,” Kari said, hoping in the back of her mind that saying it might help her accept it and dull the pain a bit. “I’m going to need a second-in-command, and someone I can leave in charge when I’m not around. You’re my highest-ranking hunter at this point, and I know I can trust you. But while I value your experience and your input, you can’t second-guess me or tell me to be reasonable. If you’re up to the task, let the Council know when you get back to the campus.”
“With all due respect, ma’am, wouldn’t that mean I’m stuck on administrative duty in DarkWind? Because, honestly, I’d rather be available to fight by your side when we do as you’re planning to do.”
“Hmph, good point,” Kari said. “All right, offer rescinded, then. I still meant what I said. Go pass along my orders. I’m going to curl up with my children now that my stomach is in less of a knot.”
“Sounds good, ma’am,” Corbanis said with a salute, and after giving his wife a quick peck on the snout, he left the house again.
“Is everything all right?” Kyrie asked when Kari started to rise.
The demonhunter got her feet solidly beneath her and shook her head. “No. Nothing is all right. But if they think my killing Sekassus’ sons was surprising, the kings haven’t seen a damned thing yet. They want a war? Now they’ve got one. I’m going to get some sleep with my children while I can. Wake me if anything important comes in.”
Neither woman responded, so Kari walked slowly up the stairs, her legs still shaky and weak. She found the room where Damansha was sleeping with Jessirra, Amayalou, Little Gray, and Uldriana. She climbed into bed as unobtrusively as she could, not wanting to wake her friend or the children. But there was something to her scent, apparently, because Little Gray and Uldriana both turned in their sleep and curled up to her.
Despite all that had happened in the last few hours, that made Kari smile.
*****
Kari woke with a start. Dawn was almost breaking, and Damansha and the children were still sound asleep in the bed. Amayalou and Jerrissa were both nursing now, though, and Kari suspected Damansha might not be as asleep as she looked. Kari kissed her own children and
then got out of the bed and padded quietly to the stairs. Her legs were still weak and now stiff to boot, and she had difficulty descending. With her healing ability, she hadn’t expected that.
Her dreams had been weird. She dreamt of a beshathan child, and wondered if it was some lingering thoughts of Morduri and their lovemaking. Whatever the case, it was in the past, and she was comfortable leaving it there. Morduri had been a fine lover, and she enjoyed herself thoroughly, but the true purpose it had served had nothing to do with him. She now felt ready to try a relationship with Kris, no longer afraid that mating with him would betray Grakin.
Her breath caught and those thoughts shattered into a million pieces when she reached the base of the stairs. Sitting by the fireplace, reading a book, was none other than the man she had just been thinking about. There was no bottle of spirits this time, no indication he had tried to drink himself to sleep during the night. He was awake, and he lifted his eyes and turned to face Kari when he heard her gasp.
He looked good. Really good. Gorgeous, even. Kari was attracted to Morduri, which had apparently been magnified by her mallasti form, but nothing like this. The very sight of Kris warmed Kari’s blood, among other things. She was wary of doing anything impulsive as she had with Morduri, but she felt ready: ready to tuck Grakin lovingly into her heart while she opened it to another. It was what Grakin had wanted. It was what Kris wanted. And it was what Kari wanted.
She approached him shakily, and he rose to his feet and took her in an embrace as much to steady her as to actually hug her. “How did you get here so fast?” she asked him.
“Family secrets,” he teased. “Normally I don’t use it, since it lets enemies know where I’m going, but in this case, it was worth the risk. Corbanis and Aeligos already filled me in. But to be honest, Kari, you look like you’ve been through hell. Are you up for going anywhere?”
“No, I don’t think I am,” she said, tears coming to her eyes. She may not have felt like she was betraying Grakin anymore, but the thought of not going to rescue Erik personally tied her stomach right back in a knot.
“All right, then, you stay here,” he said firmly. “Eliza is going to take us to Anthraxis, and then she’s going to get Markus, Sherman, Katarina, and Sharyn – whoever that is – from Lajere and bring them there as well. We’ve got a lot of people going, and your friend Amastri is already trying to get us definitive word on who has Erik.”
“So he was definitely taken?”
“Afraid so,” he answered, and he squatted and scooped her up in his arms. He set her down in one of the chairs, then took the one across from her. “From what little we’ve heard so far, Taesenus lured him into a trap of some kind, and he was abducted. Normally, that sort of thing is a capital crime in Anthraxis, but when it involves a demonhunter? Not so much.”
“And Amastri is helping?”
“Surprisingly so.”
Kari tilted her head to the side. “You called Koursturaux old girl. How much do you know about Mehr’Durillia and its kings?”
“I know enough,” Kris said. “I can speak infernal, and a lot of people there will know who I am. But I think that’ll be a help, not a hindrance. There’s also the matter of who likely has Erik. It’s not going to be one of the Ancient Ones, I’m sure of that. And I find it hard to believe any of the Major Kings would do something like this. I suspect it’s one of the lower-ranked kings, someone looking to make a name for themselves with the Overking – or avenge something that was done in the past.”
“Curlamanx,” Kari whispered.
“Well, King Arku, to be precise,” Kris said with a nod. “That’s my guess. He’s never liked this world much, and your in-laws did give him quite a black eye here on Askies.”
“Are you and your father ready to declare war on Mehr’Durillia?”
Kris shook his head. “Not yet. But we’re not declaring war on Mehr’Durillia, Kari. We’re just punching back at the idiot kings too stupid to be subtle about their desires to conquer this world. You’ve apparently already been doing that to Sekassus. As much as you might think otherwise, the Overking fully understands, and isn’t likely to move directly against you unless you threaten him or his power.”
“Are you comfortable attacking Si’Dorra, though?” Kari asked.
“No need. We’re going straight to the heart. You should know from having been there, but Arku’s people aren’t all that loyal to him. They’re not going to stop us. We’ll have our work cut out for us when we reach his palace, but if you’re right, and he’s caught up in the session of the Council, we can probably rescue Erik.”
“Probably?”
“That’s about as certain as anything gets on that world,” Kris said with a shrug. “Hell, it’s about as certain as anything is here. We’ll get it done, Kari. You’ve got more important things to think of…two of which are sleeping upstairs.”
Kari nodded, which made Kris smile. “Yeah…more important things to think of,” Kari echoed. She pushed up to her feet unsteadily, and Kris rose to his, ready to catch her. “I’m not going to let another opportunity pass me by.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, approaching.
“I thought about this a lot while I was on Mehr’Durillia,” Kari answered, then she bobbed her head to the side. “Or, more specifically, I thought about you a lot while I was there. Kris, I don’t know if what you said about your suspicions is true, but either way, I’m still not a young woman. I can’t and don’t want to wait until I think everyone else is ready for me to move on. Grakin didn’t want me to mourn him too long, and he mentioned you by name in his last letter to me.” She nodded somberly to his surprised gaze. “Yeah, so…what I need to know is if you’re interested in me, and if you can be a good father for my children. Or do you even want to?”
He stayed just a step away from her, suddenly looking a little embarrassed. “You might find this really weird, but…,” he started before he met her eyes again. “Kari, I have pictures of you on my wall back home in Streka. I grew up reading about you. In a way, I’ve always been in love with you. I know I was a jackass during the War, and I’m sorry about that; everything I wanted to say and do to you, I screwed up in some way. I wanted to tell you how I felt about you for so long, but you always had that singular focus, and…”
“Why did you leave?” she asked him. “After the War, you just disappeared.”
“I thought I’d ruined things with you beyond salvage,” he said, and Kari shook her head; he couldn’t have been further from the truth. “I went back to Dannumore. The war there hadn’t ended when I came home to fight in the Apocalypse; I decided that was where I needed to be.”
He grimaced slightly and sighed. “I know it’s probably a bit weird that I’ve idolized you for so long. But I do love you, Kari. I always have. I can’t make any promises about being a good father; all I can tell you is that I love you, that I would love to help you raise your kids, and that I’ll put in every effort to be the best father I can, to your children and to ours.”
Kari didn’t bother to wipe away the tears, and merely glanced over her shoulder. “Where is everyone?”
“Most of the family went to sleep at my father’s temple, I think. Not enough room here at the house, but they obviously let you and Damansha stay here with the children.”
Kari turned back to him. “Then don’t waste another moment. Kiss me, you fool.”
#~#~# The End #~#~#
Thank Yous & Acknowledgements
Thank you for joining me for the sixth installment of the Eve of Redemption series! Our story has now hit full stride as war between Citaria and Mehr’Durillia becomes inevitable. Be on the lookout for Book VII, “Convergence,” coming in a few months!
Preludes to War would not be a completed work if I failed to include a list of thank-yous 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 highes
t 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 and to Katie Merrick, who gives me feedback on the first drafts. Thanks to David Christopher for beta reading and making suggestions that helped 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, and Rachel DeBoer.
Thank you to Andreas Zafeiratos for yet another spectacular cover image. Andreas’ cover art has been phenomenal, and such a blessing 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.
Terra-dracon (TEH-ra drah-CONE): a mutation of terra-rir that possess leathery dragon-like wings; highly susceptible to a genetic defect called Dracon’s Bane that slowly kills them.
Terra-bengal (TEH-ra BENG-ul): subspecies of rir that possesses white tiger-like stripes, and soft pads on their feet; much more lithe and graceful than a typical terra-rir.
