Loyalty and War

by Devon Vesper

  Phalin relaxed, shoving a hand through his black hair with a deep sigh. “Thank the Nine.”

  Valis pitched his voice to carry. “This means we have to split up. I need a team to go with me at a faster pace to make it there in time while the bulk of our army moves at a normal pace with the carts and pack horses. We’ll meet up at the Braywar estate and resume our original mission from there.”

  “How many do you think we’ll need?” Venabi asked. She scratched at the pink scar that ran down her dark cheek and stared at him with intent.

  “I want ten reliquary guards with me and Tavros, as well as twenty Aesriphos and thirty laymen.” He glanced at Jintas. “I’d also like a few scouts and assassins with us. Whoever you can spare.” Then he met Venabi’s eyes again and nodded to her. “As for the Kalutakeni, whoever wants to go, whoever you can spare, leaving at least Vodis behind in case of wagon break-downs or the need for an extra leader.”

  “Done.” She turned and started calling orders to her tribe in their native language. Valis assumed it was so others could start calling orders without everyone getting confused. Jintas did the same while Valis started issuing orders for his own men and women.

  “Shyvus and Phalin, I want you two with me. Seza and Zhasina, are you going or staying with the—”

  “That’s a dumb question,” Seza said. She raised a brow at him. “We’re going with you.”

  “So are we,” Maphias said, hooking a thumb toward Jedai who stood beside him. “Might as well get used to our faces, Valis. We go where you go.”

  “Then that’s settled,” Valis said with a grin. Their support warmed him, even though the deep chill of the night threatened to turn him to ice.

  He turned to Shyvus and handed him the map. “Check the route. I have it penciled in.”

  When Shyvus accepted the map, he immediately unrolled it and started scanning. “You’re taking us to Setira City first.” He nodded. “Good choice.”

  “We’ll need to get more supplies. We’ll travel to Setira as a unified army, then split off from the group once we’ve restocked and rested. Then those of us heading to help the Braywar anchor team will secure the estate and we’ll use it as our camp until the main bulk of the army reaches us. After, we head out directly to our main objective.”

  “We can lash down the carts more securely,” Venabi said when she returned from issuing orders. “Ride harder during the day to make better time as a group. Keep a team behind the carts at all times to shout ahead if anything breaks or falls. These carts are well made. It should work.”

  Nodding, Valis glanced around and let out a breath. “That’s good. Let’s get settled in for the night, get our bellies full, and we’ll start a bit earlier in the morning.”

  With that, everyone assumed they were dismissed and went to one of the six fires that dotted the camp to cook food for everyone. Valis took a seat next to Tavros at the nearest one and leaned against his husband’s side, their armor clanking.

  “How was Darolen?” Tavros asked gently. He asked every night, and Valis wondered if it was because he was just as worried as Valis, or he was worried just because Valis was.

  “His chest infection seems to be getting worse.” Valis paused to accept a bowl of stew with a quiet thanks for Maphias as he handed them out. Once Tavros had his, Valis turned to him again and sighed. “His cough is getting worse. I took a risk and let him know we’re coming. I hope that’s enough to keep him alive and fighting until we get there.”

  “It will be.” And Tavros said that with such absolute certainty that Valis wanted to kiss him.

  So, he did.

  Then they tucked into their stew. Valis’s mind went back to those scrying scenes. Either the two teams already had succeeded, or it was a guarantee that they would. Since it had only been a short time since the anchor teams were dispatched, Valis gathered that the outcomes were guaranteed, but hadn’t yet happened. It made much more sense.

  He also knew that neither Thyran nor Sovras—whoever had changed his scrying visions—would ever make him alter his course without giving him enough time to get there. That was only a small comfort, though.

  “You seem lost in thought more than normal tonight,” Tavros murmured around a bite of stew. “What’s wrong?”

  Valis gave his husband a tired smile and stared down into his half-full bowl as he set his spoon down against the rim. “Just pondering over the visions I saw tonight. At first, when I saw them, I thought it meant the teams for Ortima and Carnis had already succeeded. Just realized it was probably a vision of the future like the first one I had of the Braywar team. It means… I might be able to control when I have a vision. Or, it could mean that Thyran or Sovras decided to take advantage of the fact that I’m a creature of habit.”

  Tavros laughed and nudged his shoulder. “You really are.”

  Shrugging, Valis ate another bite of stew before saying, “It gets duty done.”

  “You…” Tavros stopped to think about that for a moment, then snorted. “You’re not wrong.”

  “Never am,” Valis teased.

  They continued the teasing banter for a bit as they ate and stared into the fire. Then as some cleaned the pots and got ready to break down the cooking fires, Valis tugged Tavros to their tent. Alone time didn’t happen often when on journeys like this, and Valis took it whenever he could.

  No one ever said a thing. When Valis had asked Shyvus about it, he and Phalin both had given Valis fond looks and Shyvus said, “We know how it was when we first bonded. We were as covetous of our alone time as you, and none of the Aesriphos here will ever say a thing, because it is the same for every one of them, too.”

  So, when Valis and Tavros took their time shedding their armor, Valis cherished every second. He didn’t care how bad they smelled, or how cramped the tent was. He pulled Tavros down into their thick bedding, tossed their winter cloaks over top, and snuggled close.

  “You’re adorable when you’re sentimental,” Tavros whispered against Valis’s lips.

  “Just be glad I’m sentimental every night out here.”

  Tavros laughed and kissed him again. “Go to sleep, love.”

  But Valis stayed awake a few minutes longer to watch his husband drift off in the soft glow of the fading mage light because he didn’t know how many nights like this he would have. Their journey promised to be successful, but that was never a guarantee.

  Chapter Two

  Everyone had grown weary of the saddle. Glancing around, Valis was amazed at the control of those he rode with. The more advanced, older Aesriphos and laymen warriors all sat tall on their horses, all kept an attentive expression on their faces, their eyes constantly scanning the area for any signs of danger as they rode. It didn’t matter to them how long they had been in the saddle, or how far away from home they were. Their discipline kept them awake, alert, and focused.

  Valis only wished he could be so disciplined. He kept his back straight, but his focus kept wandering. He stayed alert, but his eyes kept wanting to close. He had the army moving at a steady, fast pace. The wagons remained protected near the center, and they rode in formation of six lines. They varied their pace throughout the day so the horses wouldn’t suffer, but they made better time than when he and his friends journeyed from Cadoras to Lyvea and back.

  But still, no matter how steady the pace, it was the meetings every evening that lasted well into the night that had Valis wanting to pass out on the neck of his horse. Rasera wouldn’t mind, but he had people to lead, and it would look bad if their leader suddenly took a nap in the saddle.

  Or so he assumed. Valis didn’t have the audacity to ask.

  “You know,” Seza muttered from behind, “I liked it better when we were after the Caravan. At least there was chatter to keep us awake.”

  Valis snorted. She was right. Now, it was imperative to ride in silence for the most part so they could launch surprise attacks if they came upon Qos nests. It made for a boring ride, and that was a big part of the rea
son Valis wished he could nap.

  “We’ve been riding for a month now,” her brother Maphias said. His amused tone made Valis grin. “You’d think you’d be used to it by now.”

  “Shush, you.”

  Valis heard a gauntlet clank against something hard and assumed she punched her brother. He assumed right. Not even a second later, Maphias groaned. “Not on the head.”

  Chuckling, Valis turned to look back at them. “All right. Enough, you two.”

  Quiet chuckles rose through the ranks from the more experienced Aesriphos nearby who were close enough to hear the exchange. Valis smiled. It was little things like this that kept the mood up, even when the days were boring. And with winter upon them, the days were both short and more boring than normal. They stopped late in the evening when the sun was long set and got up before the sun rose to start their day so they could make good time.

  Now, Valis stared ahead, two mercenaries behind him in case he fell into a vision, and endless miles in front of them, waiting for them to cross. It almost seemed as if they had been riding for years instead of just a month.

  He was about to ask Tavros something when he felt himself start to fall. His vision whited out, blocking everything except for sound and touch. Someone called for a halt. Someone else caught him before he tumbled out of the saddle. Then everything went dark.

  A moment later, Valis gasped. Or, his host did. They glanced around, hiding behind a wagon in an alley as they watched men in black armor with red tabards, Qos’s symbol embroidered on the front and back in shiny black thread. The men and women herded the townsfolk like cattle, shouting obscenities and blasting those who opposed them with black magic, charring their bodies until they stopped twitching. Whoever Valis inhabited whimpered at the carnage, and when they looked down to hide their eyes, Valis’s stomach rolled. He looked through the eyes of a terrified child. This young person had somehow escaped notice, and now watched everyone he knew get herded into a large building or fried by dark magic.

  A thick, meaty hand gripped the child’s neck, squeezing so painfully that the child yelped and stopped their thrashing almost as soon as it started. “Please, sir. I’m no trouble!”

  “Damned right you’re not, boy. Get in line before something bad happens.”

  The man threw the boy like a rag doll toward the herd of townsfolk so hard he bounced. Someone grabbed him up and hurried back in line, her arms trembling either from the boy’s weight or from terror.

  The boy looked up into her eyes, tears streaking his own face. His voice shook as he asked, “We’re gonna die, aren’t we, Aunt Ella?”

  She firmed her mouth into a tight line and gazed forward. Her face paled, but she kept a firm expression. The light of the sun caught the red and silver highlights in her brown hair, laced with gray from age. “No,” she finally whispered, her voice and eyes fierce. “No, Athar. We are not. The Aesriphos will come. They have to.”

  “He’s coming around. Keep a steady pace.”

  Valis shivered as the vision faded to darkness. He hated this part the most. Nothing could get him warm until he remembered to regulate his temperature. But he found that somehow, he had stayed ahorse, and as he warmed up, he relaxed into his recovery.

  “Valis?”

  Valis groaned and let his head loll toward Tavros’s voice. “Yeah.”

  “Can you talk about your vision yet?”

  Only now did Valis feel that someone was holding him up in the saddle and guessed it was his husband. When he let his head fall forward, he smelled Tavros’s skin and buried his face there. “Qos adherents have taken over a city.”

  “Can you describe the city, lad?” Phalin asked.

  When Valis gave him as much description as he could, he coughed to clear his throat. “I was in the body of a young boy, Athar. He was captured along with his Aunt Ella.”

  Shyvus let out a string of curses. His voice was grim as he said, “Athar is my great grand-nephew. Ella is one of my grand-nieces.”

  Valis frowned. His vision was starting to return, and he turned to look at his friend. “They were alive and mostly well. I’m unsure if it was a future scene, present, or past. Athar suffered a bit of mistreatment, but he seems fine.”

  Shyvus gritted his teeth but nodded. “Thank you, lad.”

  “Let’s get you back upright in your saddle,” Tavros said. He gave Valis a push and after a moment of adjustment, Valis sat tall again.

  “The place you described is Setira City,” Shyvus said. “That you mentioned Ella and Athar confirms it.”

  “We’re heading there, anyway,” Valis said with a nod. “Let’s stop for a moment of rest. I need to scry.”

  Shyvus gritted his teeth again but nodded and turned to start issuing orders while Tavros helped Valis out of his saddle because his legs were still wobbly from the vision. By the time they had a fire set up to make lunch, Valis had his pocket watch out and was trying to find his focus so he could get more details. He needed to know if what he had seen was present or future. He doubted it was the past.

  “You all right to do that in the open?” Shyvus asked. “Usually you only scry while in your tent.”

  Valis shrugged and rubbed at his eyes. “It helps to have as few distractions as possible because the skill is still new to me.”

  He nodded and went back to looking at his feet. Valis reached over and squeezed the back of his neck since they were both in armor. “We’ll save them, Shy. Sovras gave me that vision for you, I think. He wouldn’t torture you with it if we had no chance of saving them.”

  With a nod, Shyvus reached over and squeezed Valis’s hand in thanks. Valis watched the knot in his friend’s throat bob as he swallowed hard. Watching him like this was almost as hard as listening to Darolen cough and hack when he couldn’t do anything about it. They were both painful feelings that twisted sharply in Valis’s chest.

  “We’ll save them,” Valis whispered. “Don’t lose hope before we even set off.”

  When Shyvus didn’t answer, Valis caught Phalin’s attention and motioned to Shyvus before beckoning him over. He took one look at his husband, paled, and rushed over. After briefing Phalin on what had happened, Valis watched as he led his lover away for what appeared to be a private, tender chat. And with them gone, Valis bent his head and focused on the shiny inside of his golden pocket watch again. The chatter around him droned on, but Valis found it easier to tune it out now that he didn’t have to worry about Shyvus any longer.

  Just as Valis was focusing his intent, Tavros sat beside him now that he was done feeding their horses. His calm, quiet presence gave Valis a little boost to his confidence, and soon he saw Setira City. He was able to move the scry around to check inside buildings and look over people’s shoulders. But as he explored the city, he found no sign of even a single Qos adherent. Either they were well-hidden in disguise, or they had yet to infiltrate the city.

  Lunch was ready by the time Valis finished his exploration. He snapped his pocket watch closed and ate slowly, trying to let his mind relax after the intense scry. When he finished, Tavros quietly plucked his bowl out of his hands and handed him a waterskin. Valis rewarded him with a kiss.

  “You’ve been lost in your head for a while,” Tavros said against his neck as Valis took a healthy swig of tepid water. He pressed a lingering kiss there and rested his forehead against Valis’s temple. “Tell me what you need.”

  Valis felt a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth and turned his head so that their foreheads rested together, and they brushed noses. “You’re doing it already. I have one more scrying session I need to do, then I need to have a meeting of the leaders and reliquary guards. Then we head out again.”

  Tavros tilted his head and brushed a kiss across Valis’s lips. “Then I’ll let you scry. Tell me if you need anything, love.”

  “I will.”

  Another sweet, chaste kiss and Valis reluctantly pulled away to take out his pocket watch and start scanning the areas near Setira City t
o see if he could locate the Qos adherents.

  “Your brows are furrowing,” Tavros whispered after a few minutes. “Everything going okay?”

  “I’m seeing shimmers,” Valis muttered. “They’re cloaking themselves from scries. I’ve been doing that with our shields. But… I think they’re doing it while they’re moving. I wonder if I can do the same thing. Thyran believes I’m as powerful as, or more powerful than the Sovereign Priest of Qos after what the monastery blessed me with. So, I should be able to shroud our army from scries and view. It would help with the boredom issue we’ve been experiencing.”

  “Can you try seeing the future?”

  Nodding, Valis refocused his scry and went for an aerial view of the city. He forced the scry’s timeline to move ahead at an accelerated pace. After eight days, the city shimmered and disappeared, showing nothing but barren grass. Valis gasped and snapped his pocket watch shut. “They’re blocking my scry or something. When I got to the ninth day, the entire city disappeared. I couldn’t see how many there were, but they get there in nine days.”

  “It will take us ten at a hard ride to get there,” Shyvus muttered. “No matter how we try, we’ll never make it in less.”

  “My vision still stands.” Valis tucked away his pocket watch and stood. “Your relatives will still be alive. They were herding the townsfolk into a large building in my vision, so they weren’t killing anyone except those who fought back. Ella and Athar weren’t fighting. They made it into the building.”

  Shyvus gave a curt nod and raked both hands through his blond hair. “Ten days.”

  “We can make it.” Valis clapped the man gently on the neck and shoved him toward the fire. “Meeting of the leaders and reliquary guards. Let’s get this over with so we can get on our way.”

  Within minutes, the reliquary guards, Jintas, Vodis, Venabi, and Valis’s friends had gathered around while the others cleaned up the lunch dishes and got everything repacked so they could get underway as soon as the meeting was over. Valis looked into as many eyes as he could before letting out a long breath.