Loyalty and War

by Devon Vesper

  Shyvus met him almost instantly. “I was just coming to get you for breakfast.”

  Valis smiled. “Thanks. I need a team ready to ride in about an hour. Three mercenary scouts, two Aesriphos. They’re going to head out to try to find the anchor team and stop their progress until we meet up with them. If they succeed, they’ll stay with the anchor team until we get there, so they don’t need to travel back. We’ll send enough food to keep them and the anchor team fed for thirty days. Hopefully, that will last them until we can get Tavros in traveling condition.”

  “Have you figured out where the nearest city is?”

  Nodding, Valis unrolled the map and showed him the marker for Venoz City. “Venoz is the closest and largest, and we planned on stopping there, anyway. It should have a fully stocked apothecary, and possibly enough rooms to rent for our men and women to get a comfortable stay while Tavros is mending.” He pointed to the second line he made. “This is where the anchor team is currently, and their heading. Show the team you send so they can accurately track the anchor team without getting lost. I want this to go as smoothly as possible. No other accidents.”

  “I agree,” Shyvus said. “No other accidents. I’ve got a team in mind. I’ll get things squared away after breakfast and return the map to your tent if you’re asleep when we’re finished.”

  Valis grinned. “I most likely will be. But let’s get breakfast started. I’m starving, and I still have to feed Tavros.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Time wasn’t on their side. Five days had passed, and Tavros continued to get worse by the hour. Valis kept close, within touching distance of his husband to make sure he didn’t fall off his horse in his delirium. He coughed again, doubling over on his horse with the force of it, and all Valis could do was grab the back of his shirt to keep him from falling.

  Valis glanced back. Three mercenaries had taken to riding behind Tavros. Only one rode behind Valis in case he fell into a vision. But they all worried over Tavros. And Valis was more than happy for the help because he didn’t know how long he could keep his lover in his saddle. It wasn’t looking good.

  Tavros straightened up as much as he could, and Valis grimaced. His gloves shined with fresh blood, and it was looking gruesome. Both gloves were stained with blood to the point that they cracked when he closed his fists. It made Valis’s stomach churn just to look at them.

  “We have to do something, Valis,” Shyvus said from Valis’s left. “He’s looking worse than he did just two hours ago.”

  Valis sighed and glanced over at Tavros. “We are doing something. The only thing we can do at this moment is to get him closer to Venoz City and to a healer who works with medicines rather than just magic. We don’t have any other choices, or I’d be doing whatever else I could to make him comfortable.”

  “Can he even hear you?”

  “No.” Valis shook his head and grimaced. “Both of his ears are infected and clogged. His nose is stuffed so bad he’s mouth-breathing, and it’s making his cough ten times worse. And when it drains, it’s turning to ice on his face and freezing the shirt he’s wearing for a mask. We need to find the city before he runs out of clothes to use to wipe up all his mucous and blood.”

  Shyvus chuckled. “Priorities, Valis.”

  “My priorities are right where they need to be,” Valis said. “Tavros’s wellbeing and comfort come before anything else. I’m almost willing to send you all down toward the rendezvous point with the anchor team while Tavros, a couple of scouts, four reliquary guards, and I head to the city.”

  “Good luck with that,” Shyvus muttered. “You got their hearts in your palm. They trust you, Valis, and they want to see Tavros well again just as much as you do. Even the Kalutakeni and mercenaries are talking about ways to ease his discomfort, though no one has any ideas yet.”

  Valis shook his head. “The only thing we can do for him is to give him things to wipe his face with and keep him warm. I can’t get him warm enough to sweat the fever out, and it’s getting worse.”

  “There won’t be any way to keep him that warm out here,” Shyvus said. “Not with this wind.”

  “Venabi said we’re in for another blizzard.” Valis groaned and waited for the wind to die down again so they could hear each other. Just as the wind subsided, Tavros started the barking hack that made Valis shudder and cling to the back of his clothes to keep him ahorse. “And I don’t think it’s a good idea to ride through it unless we have no other choice.”

  “How far do you think we are from the city?”

  Sighing, Valis shrugged. “I have no idea. My scries for distance have been nothing but snow. I can’t even see the city.”

  “But your communication with Thyran and your father are going as normal?”

  Valis nodded. “Yes. I can contact them without issue. It’s just trying to get any kind of view between here and the city that isn’t working. The snow is getting in the way, blocking everything else out.”

  “You’re using scrying like a spyglass?” Shyvus gave him a quizzical look, complete with a raised eyebrow. “You keep surprising me, lad.”

  “Uhm…” Valis cleared his throat. “That’s not how you’re supposed to do it?”

  “Truth be told, I’ve never heard of anyone doing the things you do with that pocket watch of yours. Scrying has either been images or communication. I’ve never heard of tracking days of travel before you did it on the way to Setira City.”

  Valis snorted. “Really?”

  “You ever known me to lie, Valis?”

  Valis smirked. “No. No, I really haven’t. But you’ve surprised me before.”

  Shyvus gave him a serious look. “I will never lie to you, Valis. Never.”

  Reaching out, Valis clasped Shyvus’s bicep and squeezed gently. “I know. I was joking, brother. Forgive me.”

  Shyvus nodded and reached up to clasp Valis’s forearm. “Forgiven. Now, what should we do?”

  “It will be dark soon. I say we camp early, within the next hour.” Valis sighed and glanced behind him. “It would probably be best to send out two scouts with two Aesriphos to accompany them in case they need stealth. Have them scout ahead and find the city, then report back. That way we at least know we’re still going in the right direction.”

  “Your Cadoras tug broken, boy?”

  Laughing, Valis shook his head. “No. But I want to be sure. Any deviation could set us back days, and Tavros can’t afford that.”

  Tavros coughed again, breaking Valis away from the conversation. He reached over just as Tavros was about to fall off his horse. He just barely grabbed the back of Tavros’s shirts in time to catch him.

  “Someone grab him!”

  One of the mercenaries rode up and grabbed Tavros. Her eyes went wide. “He’s unconscious, sir.”

  Valis’s heart dropped at the same time his stomach clenched. He gasped, choking on his own frozen spit. Once he cleared his airway, he drew closer to Tavros’s horse and grabbed the reins, tied them to his saddle, and patted the horse’s neck. “Can you lift him out of the saddle?”

  “Let me try.”

  She heaved and after some effort, got Tavros settled limply across her lap. Valis helped by releasing Tavros’s foot from the stirrup closest to him. Another mercenary freed the other foot. After a few paces, Tavros’s horse fell back behind Rasera and Valis waved the mercenary with Tavros over. It took some work and coordination, but Valis got his husband onto his lap facing toward him. He draped Tavros over the front of his body and wrapped his cloak about him to try and warm him up a bit more.

  “We’re stopping for camp within the next hour,” Valis said. “Spread it through the ranks.”

  “At once,” she said and rode off down the line.

  “You’re really going to ride with him like that?”

  Valis shifted Tavros a bit and rested his head on his shoulder so Tavros could be more comfortable. Then he glanced over at Shyvus. “At least this way I know he’s not going to break his nec
k.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “The only good thing about this,” Valis muttered, “is that we’re the only ones stupid enough to travel in this weather. The Qos adherents are holed up in warm houses right now.”

  Shyvus cackled, doubling over on his horse until he wheezed. “You’re right there, lad. You’re right, there.”

  Valis smirked and hugged Tavros to his chest a little tighter. “Shift change. Send the next wave of Aesriphos up to get this snow melted.”

  “At once, sir.”

  Within minutes, Brogan replaced Shyvus next to Valis and started spraying the snow with golden magic, melting it down to about a foot high so the horses could plow through. “How is he?”

  Valis sighed and glanced over. “Wheezing every breath. Snotting everywhere. He keeps coughing—” At that moment Tavros coughed so hard it rocked Valis back. He scrambled forward to keep Tavros upright, holding onto the saddle to keep Tavros from sending them both off Rasera’s ass. When he quieted, Valis continued, “—and it does that. Though that’s the worst one he’s had since he’s been riding with me.”

  Brogan grimaced and nodded. “We’ll get him sorted, then we’ll get Dare home. You wait and see.”

  “I hope so. And Dare?”

  Brogan gave him a shit-eating grin. “I was friends with Darolen back when we were both Aspirants. Called him ‘Dare’ since the first day.” He shrugged and turned his focus forward before going on in a somewhat softer voice, “When Kerac entered the picture, I was the biggest asshole. I thought that Kerac needed toughening up, but he had social anxiety so bad that my ‘toughening up’ sent him into panic attacks so bad that his throat closed up on him at times. Took me weeks to get him to trust me after that.”

  “He made you earn it?”

  Brogan let out a snort. “No. Darolen threatened that if I didn’t fix it, I’d swallow my own sword or get beheaded by it, laws be damned.”

  Grinning, Valis nodded. “I’d do the same if it came to Tavros. I don’t blame him. Though, it doesn’t sound like Father.”

  “We’ve grown up a lot since those days, kid. All of us.”

  “Some of us more than others,” Rylas called over from Brogan’s left. “I’m the responsible one of us.”

  “Lies,” Brogan groaned. “He’s the one who’s more likely to break his neck.”

  “You’re just jealous because I’m more adventurous.”

  Brogan perked a brow before turning toward his husband. “That’s why you made me watch you date four men before you finally agreed to let me court you.”

  Rylas shrugged. “I had to make sure you were worth it. You were an asshole, after all.”

  Brogan sighed, defeated. “I really was.”

  With the chatter, it helped Valis remain calm. Though, when he glanced over to Brogan and Rylas and met both sets of knowing eyes, Valis realized that was exactly their intent. He smiled to himself. Thank you, Sovras, for my friends. He punctuated his prayer with a kiss to Tavros’s shoulder.

  Just under an hour later, Valis called for them to stop for camp. Once the army came to a stop and started setting up camp, Brogan appeared by Valis’s side and reached for Tavros. “Lower him down. I’ll be careful.”

  Valis’s stomach clenched, but he carefully maneuvered Tavros so he was sitting sideways across Valis’s lap. Then he lowered him down as gently as he could into Brogan’s waiting arms. Then, with his weight gone, Valis groaned. It felt like he floated as he dismounted. He looked down, surprised to see his feet actually sinking into the snow instead of hovering above it.

  Once Valis had his bearings, everything went like clockwork. His men and women had camp set up in record time with Brogan and Rylas taking care of Valis and Tavros’s tent first so Valis could get his husband warm. Valis took care to get Tavros into the bedroll as soon as possible.

  “Lad,” Phalin said from outside the tent, “get him naked under the cover and pile his clothes on top except what he’s going to wear against his skin tomorrow. Pile those clothes inside the bedroll at his feet so they’re warm in the morning. Do you need help?”

  “Please. And why naked?” Valis asked though he was already starting to remove layers. He trusted Phalin’s council, he just wanted to know the reasoning.

  “Because his core warmth will warm his limbs,” Phalin said as he came in. “And when you’re ready to go to bed, strip naked and spoon up against his back to share your warmth with him. It will keep him warmer than having him stay wrapped up in layers of clothes.”

  Between the two of them, they had Tavros nude and under the covers and piles of clothes within minutes. Once Valis had him tucked in as cozy as he could, he sat back and sighed. Tavros shivered, and Valis hated it.

  “He’ll stop soon, Valis,” Phalin said gently. “He’s got to warm up the blankets, then they’ll reflect the heat. He’ll be warm soon.”

  Valis gave him a small smile. “Intellectually, I know that. My heart, though, aches at seeing him shiver, just as it aches every time he coughs.”

  At that moment, Tavros curled into a ball as he coughed so hard that Valis reached for a shirt to cover Tavros’s mouth with. He wasn’t even surprised to see it covered in blood when Tavros finally relaxed.

  Valis worked until he had Tavros tucked in again and sat back before he fretted himself to death. But he couldn’t help himself as he spread Tavros’s two cloaks over his unconscious body and adjusted the shirts and pants that littered the coverlet to cover more of his husband’s feet. Phalin sat there across from Valis, silent and still. When Valis looked up at him, he had a haunted look to him.

  Valis looked into his faraway eyes and cleared his throat. “You okay?”

  Phalin shook himself out of whatever stupor he was in and blew out a heavy breath. “Just thinking about what I would do if Shyvus was in Tavros’s position. I imagine almost all of our Aesriphos have been having similar thoughts based on how quiet everyone has been and how close pairs have been riding. At first, I had thought it was because of the spread of melted snow, how it was hemming them in. But the sicker Tavros has gotten, the closer everyone has been riding. Some of the men and women have been bruising their knees with how close they ride, but not a one of them complains. Not a one, Valis.”

  Valis adjusted his shirt-mask and stroked a hand over Tavros’s head. They kept his head uncovered to help with his fever, but Valis worried about his ears. “I don’t blame them. I’d give anything to have Tavros well again.”

  “Soon, Valis,” Phalin said. “Soon. We’re almost to Venoz City. I can feel it.”

  Rocking back onto his heels, Valis gave him a nod and stood. “Not soon enough. Time to send out the scouts.”

  Phalin followed Valis out of the tent and toward the center of camp where their men and women congregated around fires to warm up and socialize after riding all day. When he neared, every eye turned toward them, and Valis noticed for the first time how they all looked at him with sadness or understanding. He unwound his shirt-mask and hung it from the sash about his waist to smile at everyone.

  “I need two sets of volunteers,” he said loud enough to be heard across the camp and above the howling wind. “Two scouts and two Aesriphos to accompany them in case they need stealth and to melt the snow for fast travel.”

  He looked from one pair of eyes to the next and pressed his point. “Your mission is to find Venoz City and report back as soon as you find it. The rest of us are staying here until the scouting team returns.”

  Jintas stood and bowed to Valis. “I will send two of my scouting assassins. They are the most deadly we have in case they run into trouble. They also have great knowledge of herbs for their poisons, so they will know where to find the apothecary to have them ready for our arrival.”

  “Thank you, Jintas.” Valis let out a sigh and glanced around. “Any Aesriphos?”

  Seza stood, and in the next breath, Zhasina stood beside her. “We know the pyre spell as well as anyone else,” Seza said. “We’ll go with th
em. I doubt we’ll run into any trouble, anyway. No one’s stupid enough to be out in this weather.”

  Valis huffed a laugh. “I said the same thing earlier.” Then he sobered and nodded. “I want you to take four extra horses with you. You can take Rasera. He likes Zhasina and will do anything she says. I want you to swap horses twice a day so they don’t get overly fatigued. I want you to travel fast, but safe. Am I clear?”

  Both women barked “Sir!” in unison.

  “Then rest for tonight. I want you out before first light.”

  After a few moments, two men in black clothing approached Valis and bowed with their right fists over their hearts. “We wish to see your map, sir.”

  Nodding, Valis motioned for them to wait while he jogged back to his tent to retrieve his map. When he jogged back, he unrolled it and handed the left half to one of the men so the three could see it in the firelight.

  “Judging by my best guess, we should be around here,” Valis said as he pointed to a spot a little north of Venoz City. “I’m not sure how accurate it is, because I feel like we should be there already. We’ve stayed on a southerly route for the duration. But we might be a little to the east or west of the city.”

  The man in the middle nodded. “I remember when we passed the Ges country line. We’ve been forced to walk for the past five days, too. So, we must remember that.”

  “I can try scrying out the location again,” Valis said. “Before, I was only getting snow. It may change.”

  The two exchanged glances, then focused their gazes back on Valis. “Scry the location?”

  Valis grimaced. “That’s how I knew where Setira City was, and how to attack it before we got there.”

  “Ah,” said the one in the middle. They removed their winter masks and Valis blinked. He didn’t realize they were twins. “May we keep this map overnight to study it? We will return it to your tent before we leave in the morning.”

  Valis nodded. “Of course. Thank you.”

  Both men nodded, and the one with the left side of the map carefully rolled it up before heading back to the fire. The twin who had been in the middle watched him go. “I do not envy the position you are in, sir. We will find this city, and we will bring back medicine to keep Tavros from getting worse on his journey there.”