Loyalty and War

by Devon Vesper

  “Then can we talk a bit before we get up?” He played dirty by dragging his nose along the soft skin behind Valis’s ear, knowing it would make Valis do anything he asked.

  Valis let the delightful shivers cascade through him, then rolled over until he faced his husband and kissed him softly. “What is it?”

  Tavros stared into his eyes for a moment and brushed a lock of hair off Valis’s face, tucking it gently behind his ear. “You know I’ll support you no matter what you do, right?”

  Valis hesitated but nodded. “I do.”

  “And I don’t want to see your father rot in a cell, nor do I want you to break your promises to yourself and Kerac.”

  Sighing, Valis snuggled closer to Tavros’s front. He had to hold back not to burrow into his neck and hide from this discussion. “I know. And I know there’s a ‘but’ coming.”

  Tavros smiled. “But, I would like you to try as hard as you can to get the mission sanctioned, no matter what happens. If Brother Bachris balks again, we can try going over his head. He’s probably just worried because he’s fond of you, among other things we might not know or understand.”

  “And if I can’t get it sanctioned, no matter how hard I try?” Valis whispered.

  His husband sighed and leaned in to kiss his forehead, another one of Valis’s favorite things. “I’m with you no matter what, Valis. Always. I promised you before, and I promise again.”

  He shrugged and went on a little softer. “I just want you to try harder. And I’d really be happy if we could wait until you finish training the reliquary guards. But it was good to let the Kalutakeni know, and the mercenaries because they both want to help, and would probably be insulted if you didn’t ask them to accompany you on this mission. But I think going behind the priesthood’s back to garner support from others is a bit too underhanded for you. We need to do this right.”

  Valis let out another long sigh and closed his eyes. “I just want everything in place for when it does get sanctioned. I want as many pieces on the board as possible as I said yesterday. And to get that done, I’ll do anything and everything in my power to make it happen.”

  Tavros frowned and cupped Valis’s jaw, his thumb brushing over the shell of his ear. “What more do you have planned?”

  “I want to have a talk with my translocation students and the reliquary guards today between their two classes before the translocation students depart for their other duties.”

  “And garner more underhanded support,” Tavros said. He pressed his lips into a thin line until Valis kissed the expression off his face. “I don’t like it, Valis. It doesn’t feel right.”

  Valis shrugged and leaned their foreheads together, yet another one of Valis’s favorite things. He draped his arm over Tavros’s side, playing his fingertips along the bumps of his spine. “It feels right to me, though.”

  “A precognitive feeling?”

  Another shrug and Valis nodded. “I think so, yeah. I feel like I’m being tugged down this path. Not the jerking like I get with the horrid stomach pitting, but like a gentle tug that stops when I make the right decision.”

  Tavros let out a long, drawn-out sigh that ended in a quiet groan. “All right. I won’t argue if it’s Phaerith’s guidance. But, if we find out it’s not, and things go sideways, we’ll stop, right?”

  Valis kissed him again and rolled out of bed. “Right. I don’t want to put us in unnecessary danger,” he said as he headed toward the lavatory. “I just want to be as ready as possible and have as many allies as we can scrounge up so we have the highest chance at success when we do leave, whether we get sanctioned or not. And,” he added as he leaned against the door frame to the lavatory, “yes, I’m hoping just as hard as you are that the mission gets sanctioned, no matter what my actions might say to the contrary.”

  Tavros followed him into the lavatory and playfully smacked his bare ass. “You’re going to turn me gray before I reach seventy.”

  “Only if you resist me,” Valis promised with a wink. Then he proved to his husband just how he was going to make sure they both stayed young.

  The moment Valis’s translocation class ended, Valis took a deep breath and glanced at Tavros, who accompanied him. It was rare for Tavros to come to observe this class, but since their joining night, Tavros came more often than not. Now, his husband gave Valis the strength and support he needed to call on his students before they left, even if he didn’t completely agree with Valis’s reasoning.

  “Before you leave, I’d like you all to stick around until all the reliquary guards get here. Those of you who are not Aesriphos may leave. Everyone else, please stay. Once the reliquary guards all file in, I’ll have an announcement and a question for all of you, but I want to get it all done at once with as little confusion as possible.”

  His students all nodded. Shyvus, though, stepped forward and touched Valis’s elbow. “Is everything all right? Kerac?”

  Valis shook his head. “Papa is healing as well and as fast as can be expected under the circumstances. This is something else.”

  “Very well, then.” Shyvus shook his blond head, his ice blue eyes searching Valis’s face. “If I can help at all…”

  “I know. That’s why I asked you to stay.”

  With Shyvus’s nod, they stood around to wait while the reliquary guards started filing in, pair by pair. Valis shucked his left gauntlet and reached over to pull Tavros’s right off as well so he could link their fingers together, needing the comfort of that contact. Tavros turned a fond but concerned smile on him and squeezed his hand.

  Even with the concern, Valis warmed with the show of support. It helped him man up and call the Aesriphos to attention once everyone had gathered around him. “Please, quiet down. I have an announcement, and I would like absolute secrecy in this. Do I have your support?”

  The room quieted immediately, and then murmurs of ascent rose in a quiet, respectful wave. Valis let out the breath he hadn’t been holding and held onto Tavros’s hand for dear life. “Thank you. This is a really sensitive subject, so your secrecy is appreciated. Please, tell no one outside of this room. If you want to speak of it, please feel free to come find me, or wait until the next class. I will always be willing to talk before and after each class, but you all know that already.”

  “What’s wrong, lad?” Phalin asked. He stood next to his husband, Shyvus, and leaned his raven head against his lover’s pale one in a brief greeting. “You look harried.”

  Valis shrugged. “Not necessarily harried. I’m just… doing my best. But, let’s get into it.” He rolled his shoulders, something he’d found himself doing often with the stress always creeping up on him. “I am trying to get a rescue mission sanctioned to retrieve my father, Darolen Jaund. He’s being kept in a cell, sitting naked in his own filth, in an enemy compound at the base of a mountain somewhere east of the center of Aspar.”

  He let that sink in for a moment, taking in the anger and concern that raced across the faces of the men and women present. “I already have the Kalutakeni caravan who are stationed on the shore of Cadoras Lake on board, as well as the mercenary band who helped in the Battle of Tigak. But I want to make sure I have as many Aesriphos on board as possible. Because, no matter what, I am going, sanction or not. If I have to go alone, so be it. But I could greatly use your support.”

  “You mean for us to break protocol?” Xetar asked. He and his husband frowned, but Xetar’s vibrant green eyes showed concern more than censure. “I cannot see the Grand Master Aesriphos refusing such a request, lad. Have you tried getting it sanctioned?”

  Valis let out a loud sigh through puffed cheeks. “I went a round with Brother Bachris, and he was adamant that I not go. He called the mission foolish. So, I’m getting everything I can ready, just in case. Because I plan on going another round, or more, with the man. No one will keep me from finding my father. I will go through any trial, any heartache—I will go to any length to get him home safe and in his husband’s arms.”
r />   Murmurs arose, and Valis’s gut squirmed as he waited. Some of the Aesriphos present visibly balked at the idea of doing anything against regulation, but some were discussing heatedly between themselves in quiet whispers that echoed around the room in unintelligible waves. The dingy white walls seemed to close in as Valis waited for them to make up their minds. He hadn’t really posed the question, but these men and women weren’t stupid. They knew what Valis wanted without him spelling it out. And as Valis looked from face to face, he could almost see who was resolute, and who was still on the fence.

  Tavros squeezed his hand again, and Valis pulled his shoulders from around his ears, forcing them down and trying to relieve the residual tension. With his armor on, it was almost impossible to let the tension go completely, but he tried, focusing on letting the muscles go as lax as he could manage while the Aesriphos in the room all talked amongst themselves.

  “We will help,” Vohan said. He shook his head, sending his short brown hair swaying around his face as he lifted his voice for all to hear. “No Aesriphos should be without their mate. Any Aesriphos captured should be immediately rescued if at all possible. That is in our laws, brothers and sisters.”

  He turned back to Valis and raised a brow. “The directions given are enough. We should mount a reconnaissance mission as soon as possible.”

  Valis gave him a solemn, thankful nod. “According to Father when I spoke to him via scry, the Qos adherents kept leading them deeper and deeper into Aspar into a trap. I’m almost positive, based on my precognitive feelings, that there are Qos nests along the way that we’ll stumble across, and that we can get more information as to the compound’s whereabouts along the way. The lack of an exact location is Brother Bachris’s main complaint, but I’m not buying it.”

  “Then we should take it directly to the Grand Master Aesriphos,” Kaltani said.

  Netai, at her side, nodded her agreement. “The Grand Master Aesriphos is the one who has the final say. Brother Bachris would take the request to him in order to get it fully sanctioned. He could not give you a positive answer, no matter what. He would only act as a bridge to the true power of the Aesriphos force. He can, however, deny you by refusing to take the matter to the Grand Master Aesriphos for consideration, but as reliquary guards, we can do that for you.”

  Valis bowed at the waist in deference to their ranks. “Thank you. But, for this moment, I want to go through Brother Bachris. No matter what he’s doing now, he’s still my friend, and I’d rather not burn that bridge. But, if all else fails, I would greatly appreciate your support and your words reaching his ears.”

  More murmurs flooded the room, and Valis stood tall again, waiting for everyone to quiet down. Some were still visibly against the idea, but more had joined the group still on the fence, while others moved on to being visibly supportive if their focused attention on him with approval in their eyes meant anything.

  When everyone had quieted, Valis swallowed hard. “I know this is a lot to ask of you. But I’ve already given a cache of gold to the Kalutakeni and mercenaries to start gathering supplies we’ll need. All we need now, is for a greater force of Aesriphos to go against the Qos adherents we will come across, because no matter how much we want it to be otherwise, four against the horde will fail sooner rather than later.”

  Zhasina pushed to the front of the line of reliquary guards and the few Aesriphos from his translocation students, Seza trailing behind. They both stood with Valis, showing their support. “We have already pledged to Valis’s cause.”

  “But you’re just Valiants!” Kogar cried. “You can’t—”

  “Actually, Kogar,” Shyvus interrupted with a raised hand, “these four have trained with the reliquary guards for a while, now. And they’ve passed their Valiant training before they even had their joining ceremonies. They’re all at the base Aesriphos rank now. These four have been the most advanced Aspirants and Valiants I’ve ever seen, and they’ve earned their ranks.”

  Kogar sighed but acquiesced with a nod. “Very well.”

  Valis squeezed Tavros’s hand and dropped it to clap for everyone’s attention. “That’s all I have for you. Translocation students, you’re dismissed to your normal duties. Any of you, if you are willing to assist and go on this mission with me, leave a note in our suite with your name. And again, please keep this close. I’d rather not face Brother Bachris’s ire when I’m still trying to convince him that this rescue mission isn’t just a foolish errand.”

  Silence seemed to boom around the arena. Then the shuffling of feet echoed as the translocation students took their leave. Valis wasn’t sure if any of them would be on his side, but from the looks on some of the reliquary guards’ faces, there might be some hope with them.

  “So,” Phalin said as the silence stretched on too long, “what are we doing today?”

  Valis shrugged. “Just more training against black magic. I think that’s the most important thing at this juncture, whether you’re with me in my quest or not. Any of you could get shipped out to a Qos nest at any time, and I’d like you all to be as ready as possible. I’d like to know you’re coming back alive and in one piece.”

  “Then let’s get on with it. I’m itching to try to break that shield of yours, you little rat bastard.”

  Laughing, Valis raised his hand. “Line up!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Burn these notes if you wish to retain secrecy. I am with you.”

  “If you can obtain a sanction according to regulations, I will follow.”

  “I am with you.”

  “None should be left to Qos. Count me in.”

  “Obtain the sanction, and I’m there, Valis.”

  “I’m in.”

  “Your fathers are great men, and it has been a privilege to call them my brothers. It would be an honor to help you in this endeavor.”

  “Get it sanctioned, and I would follow you anywhere.”

  “My sword and magic are yours if you obtain the sanction.”

  Valis rifled through the stack of notes with a heavy heart. There were already dozens of them littering the low table in his sitting room. So many, but nearly all of them called for a sanction, and Valis wasn’t positive he could acquire it. Still, the outpouring of support made Valis warm all over. Not one of these men and women felt like rescuing his father was a foolish endeavor.

  Even thinking about those words from Brother Bachris’s mouth had Valis tasting the lunch he’d just eaten searing the back of his throat. How could he have been so crass? How could he just throw away a life like that?

  Valis’s hands started to tremble as the familiar rage started to boil up again. It wasn’t fair, and Darolen didn’t deserve to be cast aside so carelessly.

  But that was life, wasn’t it? At least, that’s what Roba had taught him before Valis ended up at the monastery and his birth father had committed suicide.

  Sighing, Valis flipped through the stack of notes again, his heart sinking. Everything hinged on him getting Darolen’s rescue sanctioned, and he hated it, but he couldn’t blame any of the Aesriphos for that stipulation. Most of them had given hundreds of years to this monastery, and they were devout.

  “If you keep staring at those pieces of paper, they’re liable to catch fire,” Tavros teased. He came up behind Valis and rested his chin on his shoulder. “Love, we’re not done yet. Don’t give up on the sanction, okay? You haven’t confronted Brother Bachris again yet. Give him a chance to change his mind. And you heard the reliquary guards! If Brother Bachris keeps his stance, you have an entire group willing to go to battle for you to the Grand Master Aesriphos.”

  Valis leaned back against Tavros’s chest with a groan and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the hearth on his front, and the warmth of his lover against his back. “I know. I think the impatience is rearing its head again.”

  Tavros chuckled. “You never were a patient man.”

  “Nope.”

  “I—”

  A knock on th
e door interrupted Tavros, and he pressed a kiss behind Valis’s ear before pulling away to answer it. When he came back, all their friends followed him into the sitting room. Well, everyone except for Aryn. Having his former best friend missing rather felt like having a hole in his heart. But he covered his loss with a smile as he sat on the loveseat next to his husband. “Impromptu meeting?”

  Seza nodded. “It’s needed. Everyone deserves to know what we’re getting ourselves into.”

  Valis huffed and rubbed his forehead. “Fair enough.”

  “So, what’s going on, man?” Jedai pushed his red curls back away from his forehead. He needed a haircut, but the curls were rather endearing on the huge, muscular brute. “Seza has been cryptic as fuck.”

  “She’s been sworn to secrecy,” Valis said. “She was supposed to be cryptic. Or, rather, she wasn’t supposed to say anything at all.” Valis glared at her, but she stared back with a shrug, completely unrepentant.

  “So…? What’s going on?” Maphias asked. He wrinkled his nose. “This stinks like trouble.”

  “Oh, it’s trouble, all right,” Tavros muttered, “and it has Valis tied up in knots.”

  “Will someone just please say what’s going on?” Aenali demanded. She sat on her elder brother, Jedai’s lap, their auburn curls almost identical with as long as Jedai’s had grown out. “Stop beating around the bush and spit it out, already.”

  Valis snickered at the little girl and smoothed his hand over his face. “Fine. I went to Brother Bachris the other day to get a rescue mission for Father sanctioned, and he was adamantly against it, calling it a foolish mission.”

  He told them the whole story, reiterating exactly—or as exactly as he remembered it—what was said during that meeting. Then he detailed that morning, asking the reliquary guards and a few base Aesriphos to stand behind him, recruiting them to his cause.

  “And you have an army in the Kalutakeni and mercenaries you brought back with you from Lyvea,” Jedai mused. “You have brought them into this, haven’t you?”