Loyalty and War

by Devon Vesper

  “I miss you, too, Papa. How are you doing?”

  Kerac smirked and held the disc out a little farther so Valis could see his chest and abdomen since he was shirtless. “I am filling out. I’m allowed to do most of my normal exercises now, so long as I am not alone. I’ve taken to walking the halls as much as I can to build my stamina back up, and hope to be in running shape by the time spring gets here.”

  Valis couldn’t stop smiling if he wanted to. Kerac looked good. Still too thin by far, but he had built up nice musculature since Valis had seen him last. He no longer looked like an animated skeleton with skin stretched too tight over the bones. “You look great, Papa. I’m glad to see you getting meat on your bones.”

  “Yes, well…” Kerac shifted uncomfortably but smirked. “The kitchens seem intent on making me explode. I have never eaten so much, and if I try to refuse any food, the head cook comes directly to my room and either guilts me into eating or brow-beats me into it. And if I am not in my room, she finds me.”

  “She just has your best interests at heart,” Valis said with a laugh. “You do need to eat. You’re still way too thin.”

  “I am doing my level best,” Kerac muttered. “I will end up rotund if she keeps this up, however.”

  “I sincerely doubt that, Papa.” Valis sighed. “Anyway, I had better go. The camp is set up, they’re getting dinner on, and I need to scry the distance between here and our target to see how much farther we have to go, and if there are any obstacles we need to avoid. Will you keep that disc where you found it? I will try to contact you as often as I can.”

  “I will, my son. I love you.”

  Valis let those words sink into his heart and lightly touched the watch cover. “I love you, too.”

  Chapter Eleven

  It was the beginning of the third month since they left Cadoras. Valis stared ahead. Thankfully, the snow had stopped for now. He had no idea how long the reprieve would be. The two blizzards had come and gone, but there had been no warmer days to follow. It had only gotten colder. That meant there were drifts that were taller than the horses in some areas, and Valis still needed to have reliquary guards on rotation at the front to melt snow so that the army could pass.

  What I wouldn’t give for a warm room, warm blankets, and hot spiced tea.

  Roba chuckled in his mind. Be careful what you wish for, my son.

  Something about that sparked a precognitive feeling, and Valis groaned. He didn’t need that shit right now. Instead of dwelling on it, he filed that feeling away for later and signaled the army into a gallop. They needed to make good time, and weather permitting, they could ride hard today.

  Tavros coughed and Valis turned to his right to check on his husband. Tavros’s face seemed wrong—too flushed. But maybe that was just the cold air chapping his skin. Tavros coughed again, a deep, chesty bark that made Valis wince in sympathy. “Tav. You okay?”

  “Yeah.” He coughed again, this one sounding a little less awful. “Just tired and inhaled most of what I was trying to drink.”

  That had been his excuse for the last couple of weeks. Though, he was drinking more water than normal, so Valis couldn’t outright call him a liar. Not without an argument, and neither of them wanted that. And even if Valis did call him a liar, what basis did he have? He wasn’t a healer. All he could do was mend injuries with magic. Anything else was beyond him and his scope of knowledge. Though, maybe Venabi had someone in her tribe of warriors who was familiar with more ways of healing than just magic.

  Nothing Valis did could get his mind off it. The winter was hard. But not even the gale-force winds that buffeted them from the north could take Valis’s mind off his husband’s welfare. At least they hadn’t hit any more ice sheets. Small favors. Still, Valis and the others kept at least a foot of snow on the ground for traction, just in case.

  “What day is today?”

  Tavros’s question brought Valis out of his thoughts. He turned toward his lover and raised a brow while he did some quick calculations. “Uhm… Devotion eighteenth, I think. Why?”

  Tavros sighed and glanced over. “You keep missing things. First, you didn’t tell us about your birth anniversary until it was almost passed, and now we’ve missed the Winter Festival and the Winter Solstice. They’re big celebrations, and I wanted to share it with you this year.”

  Valis smiled and nudged Rasera closer to Tavros’s horse. “You did share it with me.”

  “I meant the celebrations, you shit.”

  Laughing, Valis reached over and took Tavros’s hand. “We’ll have other years. Just wait and see.”

  Tavros nodded but didn’t seem convinced. “The celebrations start on the solstice, the twenty-first of the month of Peace. After the main holiday, we have a week of festivities to celebrate the peak of winter and the sacrament of peace. It’s a sacred time, and a time to reflect. I forgot we would be on our journey through it. I guess I had thought we would be back before now. Foolish thinking.”

  Heart in his throat, Valis squeezed Tavros’s hand and nudged his leg. “It’s not foolish. Hopefully, after this journey, we’ll have many years where we can celebrate every holiday the way they are meant to be celebrated. We just have to get through this first.”

  “Duty first,” Tavros said a bit sarcastically. “Ah, well. It must be done.”

  “Yes,” Valis murmured. “Yes, it must.”

  They rode on in silence, broken by Tavros’s coughs and the snorts of horses and the groans and quiet conversations of the army. Valis tried to organize his thoughts, tried to find the best way of broaching the subject. They couldn’t risk anyone becoming sick, especially if it was contagious. It could ravage the entire army and delay their progress, perhaps to the point where they failed to get to the Braywar estate in time to save the anchor team. That was an outcome they couldn’t afford, and one Valis would never forgive himself for.

  No matter what, they couldn’t afford the army coming down with a sickness that started killing off his men and women. They were under his care as the Grand Master Aesriphos. They were his to protect, just as much as they were his weapons in war.

  Sighing, Valis turned back to Tavros, letting the reliquary guards take up the slack in snow-melting duties. “Tav…”

  Tavros turned to him, and Valis almost winced at how flushed Tavros was. “What is it, love?”

  “Are you sure you aren’t coming down with something? You’re scaring me.”

  Tavros let out a sigh that gusted before him in thick white clouds. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

  “Your color is off. Before, you were too pale. Now you’re too flushed, even more than the cold would cause. You keep coughing, saying it’s water going down the wrong pipe. But are you sure the intake from the cough isn’t causing the water to go down wrong?”

  His husband shrugged. “It’s possible.” He adjusted his shirt-mask and rubbed his eyes. “I’ve been tired more than usual, but I thought that was because of boredom. But other than feeling tired and the random coughing, I feel fine.”

  Nodding, Valis squeezed his husband’s hand again and turned his attention back to where they were going. “If that changes, let me know, okay? And when we stop for the night, I’d like for someone to check you over. Is that okay?”

  “Yeah.” Tavros squeezed back. “I don’t want to become a liability, love. I’ll do whatever you ask.”

  That made Valis feel marginally better. “Thank you. As the Grand Master Aesriphos, we can’t appear foolish, you know? And refusing treatment if you’re sick could endanger the rest of the army.”

  “Oh.” Tavros went quiet a moment and sighed. “I didn’t think of that.”

  Valis got closer and removed his glove, instantly regretting it. He stuck his fingers into the shirt-mask around Tavros’s face and pressed his fingers to his skin. It didn’t feel overly warm, but that could be because of the cold. He wasn’t used to trying to feel for fever in these conditions. …Actually, he wasn’t used to feeling fo
r fever in any condition. Was he doing it right?

  He caressed Tavros’s cheek before pulling his hand away and putting his glove back on. “If you start feeling unwell, let me know.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  More silence ensued. Valis was starting to hate it. Silence. It wasn’t the peaceful thing it was in the monastery. Out here in the biting cold, it seemed almost menacing. The howling wind didn’t count. It had become background noise that Valis could mostly filter out. It didn’t register except to make him and the rest of the army shiver.

  Dad?

  What is it, my son? Roba asked.

  Teach me something interesting?

  Hmm. Roba went quiet, obviously thinking about something. Let us return to your Gessian lessons. It should be easy for you, now. It’s close to Arlvorian and shares the same alphabet and number system. It also uses similar sounds. And since we’re just passing into Ges, he nudged Valis’s attention to the left where a sign stuck out of the snow drift. It said “Welcome to Ges” in a strange style of writing, but obviously Arlvorian. Below it, Valis guessed the next lines said the same thing in Asparian. It possibly held Gessian at the bottom, but if it did, it was covered by snow.

  Valis nodded to himself. Anything to break up this monotony.

  He called back behind him. “Ges border!”

  Cheers erupted from the ranks, and Valis grinned. It didn’t take much to excite them. Valis didn’t blame them, either. It excited him that he was about to learn something new. Roba had taught him Asparian during part of the trip. He was passable at it, and every now and then, Roba would drill him in that language. But Valis wanted to learn more, something new. He always thirsted for knowledge, and his father was a veritable font of it.

  Dad?

  Yes, my son.

  Thank you for teaching me things.

  Roba sighed in his mind, and Valis could almost feel the brush of ghostly hands on his skin. I wish I would have taught you so many things while you were growing up. There is so much I kept from you, so much that I denied you because I knew I would sacrifice you to Qos when the time was right. What use was it to teach a dead child? But you survived, and I will endeavor to teach you all that I should have when you were small. That is why I am starting with languages.

  Dad?

  Roba chuckled. Yes, my son?

  I’m glad I survived. I’m glad I got to know you.

  I am glad, as well, Valis. More than glad. Now, let’s get back to your Gessian lessons.

  They still had a long way to go since they were just entering the country of Ges. The Braywar estate was nearest the southernmost border between Ges to the east, and Tonemor to the west. But as Valis settled into his lessons, the journey became somewhat bearable again.

  Valis signaled for another ground-pounding gallop. They had stayed in a canter for well over an hour and needed to cover more distance. The reliquary guards changed shifts, and as soon as their replacements were in position and melting snow, they rode hard toward the south.

  All the while, Roba occupied Valis’s mind with Gessian lessons. It wasn’t a bad deal. Gessian seemed much easier than Asparian, Noldworian, Plorvian, Lyvean, and Urkorian combined. It helped that his father came up with verbal games to help Valis learn, and some of them were rather fun.

  By the time they stopped that night, Valis’s mind swam with his lessons, and he was ready for a break. He dismounted and gave Rasera a fond pat. His horse butted his head against Valis’s chest with what Valis thought was a snort of affection. After giving his horse a long rub on his face and neck, he removed the tack and removed his blankets and wraps to let the others dry next to the fire from the sweat that had built up. Leaving the sweaty ones on would soon make their horses colder than if they went without a blanket at all, and they needed to keep their horses in peak condition.

  After giving Rasera a thorough grooming, he covered his horse in fresh blankets and wraps—or as fresh as they got with no way to wash them on such a long journey. The last time the things had been washed was back in Setira City almost a month ago. Poor beasts.

  Things went like clockwork. With the help of other Aesriphos, Valis got the ground cleared and dried. He set the shield, and everyone went to their own duties with military efficiency.

  He helped Tavros set up their tent, and noticed his husband moving slower than normal. It wasn’t unheard of in such extreme temperatures, but coupled with the coughing and flushed face, it spiked Valis’s worry.

  The moment they had their tent up, Valis pulled Tavros inside with their packs and tack. “Are you okay?”

  Tavros sat on his tightly rolled bedroll and sighed. “Just cold and tired. This journey is boring and nothing keeps my interest. Without chatter, I’m nearly falling asleep in my saddle.”

  Valis frowned. “You could always talk to me.”

  Tavros gave him a small smile as he unwrapped his shirt-mask and tossed it aside. “I heard you doing language drills to yourself.” He shrugged and cracked his neck. “I didn’t want to interrupt your lessons with Roba. Honestly, I paid attention as long as I could. I need a refresher in Gessian, anyway. But even that didn’t last long, and I was bored and tired again.”

  Chuckling, Valis sat next to him on the bedroll and nudged Tavros’s shoulder. “I thought I was being quiet.”

  “You were,” Tavros assured. “I was just listening for anything and caught your voice. When I recognized you were speaking in Gessian, I started listening harder and moved closer so I didn’t have to strain as hard.”

  “I didn’t even notice,” Valis admitted. “I was so focused on the lessons that I didn’t even see you come over.”

  His husband laid his head on Valis’s shoulder and closed his eyes. Valis stroked his greasy hair, pressed a kiss to his warm forehead. Tavros smiled before saying, “It’s okay. As I said, I didn’t want to interrupt. Learning Gessian is important since we’re here.”

  Valis pressed another kiss to Tavros’s forehead and sighed. “Yeah. Still, I should have paid attention. When we’re traveling tomorrow, I’ll include you in my drills and the games Roba’s been playing with me to try to help with your boredom and refresh your memory of the language.”

  “I’d like that,” Tavros said. He sounded so sleepy that Valis’s heart melted a bit. “Maybe then I won’t be so tired.”

  “Maybe.” He hugged Tavros tight and sat up. “Why don’t you roll out our bedrolls and take a nap while I scry. I’ll wake you when dinner is ready.”

  “Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.”

  That frightened Valis more than anything. If Tavros was feeling well, he would never agree to a nap this close to dinner and bed unless Valis laid down with him. He especially wouldn’t nap unless Valis was the one who complained about being tired.

  Sighing, Valis walked out of the tent and went in search of Venabi. Once he found her, he pulled her to the side. “Do you have any healers? Someone with the knowledge of non-magical healing?”

  Venabi nodded and scratched the scar that ran down her face. “Kastaan is our healer here. I left Yulas with the army bulk in case they needed a healer. What is wrong?”

  Valis winced and glanced back toward his tent. “I think Tavros is coming down with something. I want him checked out.”

  “It will be done.” She smiled, which was strange because it was a matronly thing instead of her battle-ready I-want-to-kill-people smile. “Go be with your love, Valis. Being out here will just make you worry.”

  With a laugh, Valis rolled his eyes. “You know me too well. I swear, I might as well be an open book.”

  “Yes. You might as well be,” she said. She gave him a shove toward his tent so hard that Valis nearly toppled over. “Now go before I kick you that way like a Bansal ball. I will send Kastaan.”

  “Thank you.” He left before she could kick him, and headed back for his tent. By the time he got inside, Tavros was already snoring. But… he didn’t normally snore. That compounded Valis’s worry and almost m
ade him skip scrying.

  But duty needed to be done. Pulling out his pocket watch, Valis popped the cover down and sat next to Tavros’s head. His first round of scrying was to see how the anchor teams were doing. Focusing his intent, he stared into the reflective surface of the watch cover and waited for the images to form from the swirling clouds.

  He checked on the anchor teams for Ortima and Doveran first. The Doveran team seemed to be on their way back to Cadoras. The Ortima team was mid-battle, but it seemed in their favor. They fought hard, and by the looks of things, they caught Ortima by complete surprise so her house wasn’t guarded. It looked like the only help she had were a few guests whom he guessed were also Qos adherents and her servants.

  When he checked on the Braywar team, Valis’s heart eased a bit as he saw them painfully trudging through snow that was up to their horses’ backs. The slower pace meant Valis and his team would be able to catch up and overtake them if they kept at their current pace.

  He glanced down at Tavros’s sleeping face and frowned. If Tavros was sick, however, that might not happen. Could we find a city to leave him at to get treatment while we head after the anchor team?

  That seems like your best bet, Roba said. He really does seem ill, or like he’s on his way there.

  But I don’t want to leave him. Just the thought turned Valis’s insides to stone. I’d worry about him and be useless.

  Or you would fight harder to get back to him as soon as possible, Roba said. You tend to go one way or the other, and generally, when it has to do with someone you love, you tend toward violence.

  Valis smirked. True. Then he sighed. I still don’t like it.

  Then don’t like it, and move on. There really are no other options. You either leave him or take him with you as a liability in battle. If he’s not sick, we need to find out what is wrong with him.

  Just then a man with skin blacker than night entered and smiled, his white teeth blinding against his dark skin. “Who is the sick man? I’m Kastaan.”

  Valis motioned him inside. “It’s Tavros. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He’s been pale, but today he’s been flushed, warm, and tired, and he’s been coughing often. It sounds like a dog barking.”