Loyalty and War

by Devon Vesper

  Tavros’s abdomen turned hard as a rock right before he curled off the floor with the force of his orgasm. His fist involuntarily tightened, and after a few more thrusts, Valis followed him into bliss.

  The moment the waves of orgasm eased off, Valis collapsed against his lover’s chest… and slid right off and halfway across the room.

  “Fuck. Goddamn it.” Valis tried to get up, but his slick hands found no purchase over the still slick wooden floor. He fell and bumped his chin, making his teeth clack together. And all the while, Tavros rolled around on the plush rug he landed on and cackled like a demented madman.

  With a sigh, Valis carefully got himself to his knees and, very carefully, slid himself across the floor until he reached the carpet and his wheezing husband, and got to his feet. “Okay. Who is going to draw the bath? There’s no way we’re going into a meeting with lube in our hair.”

  That just made Tavros laugh harder, and Valis shook his head.

  Just then, someone knocked on the door, and Valis, very carefully, went over and opened it a crack.

  “Man… what’s in your hair?” Then Jedai looked down and snorted, probably when the scent of cherries wafted to him. “Did you bathe in it?”

  “Might as well have,” Valis said.

  “And Tavros has lost his entire shit,” Jedai mused. “I’m not even gonna ask. You almost ready for the meeting? Everyone’s assembled.”

  Valis wrinkled his nose. “We need a quick bath first.”

  “You do that, then. I’ll let them know.” Then he paused and grinned. “And Valis? Why are you also covered from nose to dick with blood and cum?”

  “That answer is why Tavros is still losing his shit.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll draw a bath for you guys before heading down.”

  After their short baths, Valis and Tavros helped each other dry off, then went in and took their things to the room next door so they wouldn’t have to clean the lubricant off the floor. Once they were properly dressed and somewhat decent, Valis took Tavros by the hand and led him out of the room.

  They traversed the sprawling house to the receiving room, and Valis balked when they entered into a room so large he felt like he could get lost in it.

  “Shit,” Tavros muttered. “This is almost as large as my parents’ house back in Banen. Who needs a room this big?”

  Some of the reliquary guards chuckled at him, but they sobered quickly when Valis gave them all an unimpressed look, complete with a raised brow. And once they settled, Valis nodded his thanks and took a deep breath. He’d keep his dreamwalking plans secret from the masses of his army. He trusted his reliquary guards to tell those who needed to know. And with that trust, Valis lifted a hand for everyone to quiet down.

  “We’ve got to head to Neri City. It’s the next stop along the way toward our final objective. I’m guessing my father is in the enemy’s monastery. And… just so you aren’t caught unawares, the enemy monastery is an exact replica of Avristin, all the way to the temple’s Light of Phaerith, only theirs is a massive amorphous black blob that somehow radiates darkness.”

  “And it’s inside a mountain,” Tavros added. “Between the entrance into the mountain—which we have no idea how to move that slab of rock—and the monastery itself, there’s a giant maze of caverns.”

  Everyone’s eyes got big for a moment, then they all nodded. “We couldn’t expect anything less, I suppose,” Cassavin muttered.

  “Oh, but you don’t know the best thing,” Tavros said. He grinned. “Valis has it mapped out in his head. The main reason we’re heading to Neri City is to get physical maps made of the route to the mountain entrance, and from the mountain entrance to the monastery.”

  “Is there any room in that head for much else?” Phalin teased.

  Valis frowned at him. “Watch it, or I’ll put you on latrine duty.”

  With the snickers that surrounded him, Valis couldn’t keep his stern mask in place for long. It felt good and right to joke around with his friends—his army—his brothers and sisters. If only they could stay here, make this their temporary home until spring when they could return to Avristin, and never have to fight again, Valis would be a happy man.

  But as Valis glanced over at Tavros—saw the hardness to his eyes that hadn’t been there when they’d left Avristin—as he heard his father, Darolen’s pained wheezing and coughing, heard the remembered weakness of his voice, and how he sounded so much older than when he had left—Valis’ crumbling resolve shored up again and he squared his shoulders. Darolen was still his main objective.

  One day—and he hoped that day came soon—Tavros wouldn’t have that hardness in his eyes anymore. One day, his fathers, Kerac and Darolen, would have the happy retirement that they deserved. One day, Valis would be able to enjoy his friends without the need to fear for anyone’s safety when they left the next day.

  And as he stood there, joking with his men and women—with his chosen family—Valis made a promise to himself and to every one of those assembled and standing sentinel around the manse.

  The Sovereign Priest of Qos would die on this journey.

  Valis wouldn’t tolerate any other outcome.

  And with that bastard gone, he would take his father and the missing god jar home.

  Chapter Four

  “You’re really going to do this,” Tavros said as Valis squirmed to get comfortable on his back. He stared at Valis with a deep frown that tugged at Valis’s heart.

  “I really am,” Valis replied. “Just remember that you have control of the situation.”

  Tavros snorted and rolled his eyes. “If I had control of the situation, you wouldn’t be about to go on a dreamwalk at all.”

  Valis gave him a shy grin. “True. But duty needs done, and you know we have to do this.”

  “‘We’…”

  “You know what I mean, Tav.”

  His husband sighed, his shoulders sagging with the defeat, and drew a chair close to the bed. Once he sat, Valis reached over and squeezed his hand. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

  “You’d better,” Tavros demanded. “Don’t make me come after you.”

  Valis smirked. “I would never.”

  With Tavros’s nod of acceptance and a sweet kiss from his lover, Valis closed his eyes and got comfortable. He pressed the covers down at his sides and held them there with his arms. After a few moments of deep breathing, exhaustion from the intense day took over.

  It wasn’t like his first dreamwalking attempt. He didn’t have his father’s heartbeat tugging at his Mark of Qos to draw him out of his sleepy haze and straight into the dreamwalk. Instead, he had to fight to crawl back out of his dreams and into that state of consciousness where he could struggle against his body and break free.

  The moment he broke free, he “swam” toward Tavros and touched his husband’s face. When Tavros gave a shiver, Valis raised a brow but backed off and willed himself out of the manse. He flew a dozen or so feet in the air to get his bearings, and once he knew where he was and where he wanted to go, Valis followed the directions he’d found in Braywar’s things at such speeds that it only took a few minutes to reach the mountain’s base. And even so, he was somehow able to keep track of landmarks and routes, which completely baffled his mind.

  As he stopped before the side of the mountain, Valis wondered if he should wait to see if anyone opened it, or just snoop around. How long would it take if he snooped around? Opening the mountainside was imperative to getting his men and women into the tunnels to fulfill their final objectives.

  Then he saw a shimmer near where he remembered the edge to be, close to the ground. When he drifted that way, the shimmer grew more noticeable as some sort of magic camouflage concealing what appeared to be a lever one would step on.

  Ugh. I want to try it. Good job, I don’t have a body. Fuck.

  Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Valis willed himself to the opposite side of the sliding wall of rock and found a similar lever there that let him
know that his initial thought was right. They had their way in—and out if things went sideways.

  No sense dawdling. Let’s get this over with.

  First, Valis took his time mapping out the labyrinth of caves that led the way to the monastery itself. The path wasn’t overly complicated, but he did see the shimmer of black magic traps on the floors. After doing his best to memorize their locations and the labyrinth itself, Valis willed himself back to his body.

  He woke up with a gasp, and suddenly Tavros hulked over him. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  Valis shuddered. “I’m fine, love. Get me some paper and a pencil? I need to sketch this out while it’s still fresh.”

  Tavros furrowed his brows for only a breath, then shrugged and stalked off. He returned to the room a few minutes later with a pitcher and glass in his hands, a few sheets of paper and a book tucked under his arm, a pencil stuck behind his ear, and an ornate sharpener tucked under his chin. “In case you need more. I figured you’re going back out after the sketch.”

  Valis grinned at his husband’s show of support. “I am. Thank you.” Then he really looked at Tavros and tilted his head. “You okay with that?”

  Once he sat, Tavros gave a slow nod and set the pitcher of water and glass on the nightstand along with the pencil sharpener. “As long as you keep checking in like this, it’s okay. It’ll ease my fear.”

  Valis took the paper and pencil when Tavros offered them, as well as the old book for a firm surface to write on. His husband waited while Valis did a quick sketch of the labyrinth, placing the traps where he remembered them. He spoke as he worked. “I’ll make sure to stop in after I talk to Father. I want to see him and try to pull him into a dreamwalk if he’s asleep. Then I want to go back and get a feel for the monastery’s layout to refresh my memory.”

  “I think I can deal with that,” Tavros said. “Just be careful when you scout the monastery.”

  “Promise.”

  Then Valis perked up and beamed. “I also found out how they open the mountain face. It’s a lever that you step on from either side. It’s just hidden by magic.”

  Nodding, Tavros poured a glass of water and handed it to Valis once he set the paper aside. He waited patiently while Valis drank, keeping quiet. It bothered Valis a little, and once he had the glass drained and handed it back to Tavros, he asked, “Why are you so quiet?”

  Tavros gave him a sheepish smile. “I don’t want to rile you up. It’ll make getting back into a dreamwalk harder if you’re stimulated with loud talking and noise.”

  “Oh. Thanks.”

  “I take it you’re ready to go back in?”

  Valis stretched and laid back down. “Might as well. I want to get this done before I don’t have time to get restful sleep.”

  Even though Tavros looked like he wanted to argue, Valis squeezed his husband’s hand and squirmed to get comfortable when Tavros only nodded and blew out a breath that sounded like it released some of his frustrations.

  “Just going to visit Darolen this round?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be back soon.”

  Tavros nodded, and it looked like he fought against himself to relax. “I’ll be waiting.”

  Nodding, Valis patted the bedclothes down by his sides and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was out of his body. Once he willed himself to the enemy monastery, he bypassed the labyrinth and dove down to where he guessed the prison to be. The first three floors were standard, but the fourth floor changed drastically. When he made it there, his stomach turned. It wasn’t a prison. The place was a dungeon.

  He went room by room, taking note if he saw any others captured, but those who were, looked like they were already dead. Everywhere else was just filthy cells with grimy bars embedded into the ceiling and floor.

  By the time he made it to the bottom, he counted four corpses, one living woman who looked like she wouldn’t make the night, and countless empty cells.

  On the bottom floor, however, there were no cells. Or, at least these didn’t look the same. They looked more like the prison at Avristin with metal doors, though these didn’t have slots for food to pass through.

  Only three doors stood open, and when Valis checked them, his stomach churned. All three seemed to be torture rooms with various implements, all coated in thick scabs as if they’d just been used, and whoever used them last failed to clean them for the next use.

  Valis shot out of the last room—the one with shackles hanging from the ceiling and a pool of congealing blood on the floor—and started checking the rooms.

  None of them were lit. Valis used magic to augment his vision so he could see in the dark. After a thorough search, only one cell had a prisoner—Darolen, sitting in the cell closest to the torture rooms.

  Why are there no other prisoners?

  The implications soured his stomach. All the other prisoners must have died or were killed. There were so many Aesriphos with his fathers. The loss of life this indicated was staggering, and Valis sent up a solemn prayer to Sovras for their souls’ peaceful rest.

  He had to shake those thoughts off. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t get anything done, and he needed to make sure to get back to his body before Tavros got too worried. He didn’t want to cause his husband more distress than necessary.

  With a deep breath that his astral body didn’t need, Valis checked on Darolen. It appeared he was asleep, and Valis hoped that were true. He gently touched his father’s shoulder with the intent to draw him out of his body and into the dreamwalk. It took a few breaths, but with a startled cry, Darolen came with his fists raised in defense.

  Valis raised his hands, protecting his face. “Whoa. Father, it’s me.”

  “Valis?” Darolen lowered his fists just enough to look at Valis. Then he dropped them and sagged. “What—” He looked around, saw his body, and frowned. “Am I dead?”

  “No,” Valis assured. “I pulled you into a dreamwalk. You’re safe for the moment, just sleeping.”

  His father groaned and rubbed his naked arms. Valis took control of the dreamwalk with just a breath and changed the scenery to Darolen and Kerac’s suite in Avristin and clothed him in the monastery’s uniform.

  Darolen looked around and down at himself. “You can do so much…”

  Valis smiled and gave his father a tight hug. “I want you comfortable for at least a little while.” He sighed and took Darolen to the sitting room and motioned to the settee. “Have a seat. I can’t stay long. Tavros is already worried that I’m dreamwalking so far from my body. But I want to take a few minutes with you.”

  Darolen sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. When he finished, he looked so tired that Valis’s heart ached. “You should get back. It isn’t safe.”

  “Not until you get back in your body,” Valis said as he sat next to his father. “I need to make sure you’re safe.”

  After a deep breath, Darolen looked around the room, then to the door. “Is…”

  “No. I didn’t fashion Papa in this scene.” Valis squeezed his father’s hand. “I need you to get back into your body. If you stay in this place, I won’t have anyone to rescue.”

  When Darolen looked back at him, Valis’s heart sank further as he saw tears standing in Darolen’s eyes. “I don’t want to go back. I…” He took a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s normal, Father.”

  Darolen’s lower lip wobbled, and his chin shivered before he pulled himself together and wiped his eyes. “I’m stronger than this, damn it.”

  Valis leaned against him and wrapped an arm about his waist. “You are. But you’re allowed to feel however you feel.”

  “I don’t know how much longer I can last,” Darolen whispered. “I can’t—”

  “You can, Father.” Valis squeezed him and pulled back just enough so he could look his father in the eyes. “I know you can. Keep fighting.”

  Darolen rubbed his eyes again and groaned. �
��Where are you?”

  “We’re at the Braywar estate.” Valis scooted even closer to his father until their thighs and shoulders pressed together. “It’s at the southern edge of Ges and Tonemor. You’re on the far side Endyer inside a mountain.”

  “About how long do you think it will take you to physically get here?”

  Valis shook his head. “No idea. There have been constant blizzards making travel difficult. But… we do have a good set of directions to travel by. We’ll be stopping in Neri City in Endyer to hire a cartographer to create maps from there to the entrance of the labyrinth, and one through the labyrinth so we can enter swiftly. Then I’ll need a map to get home.”

  “That’s quite far,” Darolen whispered. “It will take you a long time. Perhaps well into spring.”

  “It will, but I need you to keep fighting. Can you do that for me?” He looked deep into Darolen’s eyes, and when he saw them harden with resolve, his lungs seemed to loosen until he could breathe easier.

  “I can do that.”

  “Good. Now, I need you to get back into your body so I can go back and check in with Tavros.”

  Darolen frowned and got up off the settee. He paced the room. After a few passes, he went to the door and tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. He tried twice more before letting out a small cry that tore at Valis’s soul. “Please…”

  Valis sighed and went to the door to stand behind Darolen. “Why? There’s nothing else to see. I can’t let you stay here, Father. I don’t want to lose you when I’m so close.”

  “You’re so far away,” Darolen whispered. “So far…”

  “I’m over halfway to you, and now we have a solid path, proper directions to get to where you’re being held.” He sighed. “Please, Father. I can’t lose you to a dreamwalk. It would break me.”

  “I just… Please…”

  “Please, what?”

  Darolen’s whisper grew softer. “Let me see him… Just once.”

  Valis took a moment to think, then made it so the door opened. “Okay. Let’s go. I have an idea.”