With the assurance that they could walk free within the town Ash and Tina planned a trip to do just that the next morning. The evening was already fast approaching and after a day of being huddled in the back of a wagon Ash wanted nothing more than a good walk but Tina wanted to sleep. Ash wanted to argue against retiring so early but the look she had blew away all of his complains. They had been stuck together for day but they were not alone even at night. It was clear what Tina was thinking and though Ash was tired he still had enough energy for what Tina wanted from him.
As soon as he nodded his head Tina grabbed his arm and drug him toward the back where their room was located. Jaren watched them go and Ash could hear his teasing laughter even after they had entered the room.
14-5
The next morning Ash woke his entire body hurting. Turning his head he focused on Tina who was still sleeping soundly next to him. Sighing Ash tried to slip out of bed but Tina had a death grip on his upper arm and refused to let go, even in her sleep. After a few vain attempts to get away Ash had no choice but to shake Tina awake. After about five minutes of shaking Tina finally opened her eyes and yawned. “Morning,” she said though half another yawn.
“Can you let go now?” Ash asked as he nearly had to squeeze his leg together in order to hold back the flow that was threatening to burst lose. Seeing his watery eyes Tina screwed up her face as if she was thinking before laughing and letting go of her hold on his arm. As soon as he was free Ash made a mad dash to the latrine what was at the back of the church.
After returning from draining his reserves Ash found Tina still in bed. “Are we going out into town today or do you want to lounge around in town all day?” Ash asked his voice laced with sarcasm.
“The bed sounds good to me,” Tina said with a bubbling laugh.
Picking up one of her dresses from the bag on the floor Ash threw it to her. “Get dressed,” he said with an exasperated tone. Tina caught the thrown dress and watched Ash leave the room and chuckled again. Ash waited in the hall for Tina but she didn’t leave him there alone long.
Relar was much bigger than Ash had thought it would be. He had never been to a large port town before but it looked to be near the size of the capital if not larger. Most of the town was made up of stores, bars, inns, and storage buildings. There were a number of houses as well ranging from small shacks to large mansions. As they walked through the town Ash couldn’t help but look around like a small child at his first fare which Tina teased him about whenever she got the chance.
While they walked through the town the church knights walked behind them at a respectful distance. Unless he looked for them Ash wouldn’t notice them at all. He knew that if it came to a fight he could take all four of them without trouble but their power didn’t just come from the strength of their sword arms but in who they were. Church knights were the epitome of knighthood and no one in any kingdom would dare to insult one. The knights worked directly for the high command of the church and to cross one was the same as crossing the entire church. Just like the reapers and priests, the knights were hand-picked by the goddess, so they were extremely loyal.
“Look at this?” Tina said drawing Ash’s attention to a small stand that sold handmade crafts. Tina picked up a small broach that had been made by braiding small twigs together.
Ash paid eight copper coins for the small broach and Tina happily stuck it to her cloak. Ash didn’t think that it would hold for very long but it was worth the coin to make Tina smile.
“Halt,” A voice called out as they started to leave the stall. Turning his head and saw three men wearing the guard’s uniform approaching them with their hands on the hilts of their swords. Before Ash could respond the four church knights appeared in front of him.
“Knights of Altina step aside that man is a wanted criminal,” the guards said drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd.
“Then we will have to see the orders of your king,” one of the green garbed knights said coldly. “This man is Ash Hawkwing. King of the demon kin, prince consort of the Hawking lands and a revered reaper of the goddess of the harvest.”
The knights words were not spoken loudly but they got the attention of the crowd. It was no doubt that the news of the reappearance of the demon kingdom had made its way this far but most of the common people wouldn’t have heard of it. The demon king was a large enough surprise but when it was mentioned that he was a reaper, fear appeared in the eyes of more than one person. Every church had its priests, knights, and enforcers. The reapers were the goddesses Altina’s enforcers. They were small in number and rarely known by name but they were feared. The priests acted to uphold the tenets of a god. The knights protected the church and her people. The enforcers were different they only had one task and that was killing those that had earned the ire of their god or goddess.
“The man killed members of the dukes personal guard,” the guard said his voice losing much of its power. “Not even the church can shield him. He must stand trial for his actions.”
“The light of Altina still shines upon him,” the knight said without blinking. “Any lives that he has harvested had been with the goddesses blessing and thus mortal laws have no right to judge him. If you wish to take this man then you shall have to fight to do so,” the knight added as he and the other three pulled out their swords.
Two of the guards wisely stepped back but one didn’t retreat at the knights warning. “I have an arrest warrant from the hand of the duke of Tomay, Gilbert Fircefang.”
“He is not the king so the warrant is not valid,” the knight said dismissively.
“I warn you the king will not stand for the church harbouring a wanted criminal of Galos,” the guard said.
“A guard now speaks for the entire kingdom,” the knight said with a laugh. “Bring a warrant written in the king’s own hand or face the church, those are your only options.”
The guard’s face tightened but he turned and walked away with the others. Once he was gone the church knight bowed to Ash and Tina before returning to his post, watching them from a respectful distance. Ash and Tina continued their shopping but it was not hard to notice that they now had an extra pair of eyes on them. The town guards who had left didn’t go far and were now following behind them keeping track of their every move. Ash didn’t like the new addition but there was little he could do about it outside of just killing them in the street.
They continued shopping until slightly after noon where they had a nice meal before returning to the church. When they arrived at the large doors of the church Ash noticed a large carriage outside that was surrounded by guards each wearing the same emblem on their chest. It was an emblem that Ash knew well as it belonged to the Duke of Tomay. Ash felt a headache building knowing that more annoyances had arrived but Tina looked like she was enjoying it. She was always an enigma to him. Her moods never seemed to follow rhyme or reason.
Ash didn’t want to put anything off so he headed straight for the main hall of the church. There was only two places that church discussed anything of importance. One was the great hall while the other was the central garden. Ash doubted that the duke would be graced with visiting the central garden as it was considered sacred ground and only those that were firm believers in the goddess were allowed entry. Just as he expected when he walked through the large double doors leading to the main hall he found the high priest, seven church knights and three lower priests and priestess sitting in chairs at a long table. On the other side was the duke another noble looking man four personal guards and his attendant.
“Ash nice of you to come,” the head priest said with a warm smile. “We were just talking about you.”
“I figured as much,” Ash replied. “The good duke has already tried to have me arrested within the town for my so called crimes.”
“You killed the duke’s men, and a number of town guards,” the attendant said. “There are a number of witnesses to your actions. Those are crimes against the duke and the kingdom.
”
“Only after they threatened me with personal harm as well as the duke demanding my wife service him,” Ash argued back.
“You are slandering the good duke. He was only requesting a meal with the lady and nothing more,” the attendant said making his voice sound dismayed at the charge.
“Then why would the good duke wait outside the restaurant with his guards?” Ash asked his voice dripping with meaning.
“He was only trying to clear up the misunderstanding for earlier,” the attendant replied smugly.
“Anyone who would believe that has wood for brains,” Tina said her words cutting off Ash’s next remark which wasn’t near as clever.
“Are you two done playing?” the head priest asked though the smirk on his face showed that he had enjoyed the small banter. “The duke has made a claim that your arrest warrant has nothing to do with your duties with the church and wanted us to turn you over to his charge. What do you say Ash?”
Ash looked at Tina and tried to fight back a smile. “I can tell you with a clear conscious that each life that ended that day and during the subsequent days have been under the clear order or guidance of the goddess Altina. In truth she has even asked for the head of the duke himself and if we were not within the confines of the church I would try for his head again.
Ash wasn’t lying Tina was the goddess and she wanted the duke dead even if the reapers scythe wasn’t hanging over his head at the time. Now thought the scythe was there though it was not very strong and only weakly hung above the man’s head.
“Preposterous,” the duke said standing from his chair. It the head priest of one of the largest churches of Altina in the kingdom of Galos believed what Ash said then his life would get much harder. “It is not as if the goddess talks to you and tells you when and who to kill.”
“You are wrong about that duke,” the priest said his voice going cold after hearing Ash’s words. “The goddess marks those that she wants dead with her symbol. Only those of her chosen flock may see thee markings. She has two markings; one is a hoe which any priest or knight can see and it marks those who have her blessing. The other is a scythe which she has marked to be harvested. The scythe can only be seen by reapers and knights. The knight’s main duties are not to harvest souls so they do not seek out those with the marking nor look for it except for certain circumstances,” the priest said before turning to the knight at his left. “Knight Captain Rain does the duke have any markings?”
The knight captain looked at the duke closely before he spoke. “The duke has a faint symbol of a scythe marking him as an enemy of the church.”
Upon hearing the knight’s condemning words the duke stood from his seat his face turning red first then white. “I have never done anything that would stand against the church. These are nothing but lies.”
“You are accusing a knight of the church of lying,” the head priest said his voice raised as the blood vessel on his forehead started to pulse and his jaw ticked slightly.
The duke took a step backward. He was no fool and knew of the head priest and his heritage. The man was from a long line of knights. His father had served the king, just as his brother does now. As a second son he had approached the church hoping to be a knight in their order but he had been chosen for a different path and he had done well within it but his feelings to the knights and the ideals they upheld had never changed. “No, I would never accuse a knight of the church of lying. I think the good captain is being tricked by some foolery,” the duke explained quickly.
After a few seconds the head priest was able to calm himself…some. The vein on his forehead was still visible but his face had mostly returned to its normal shade. “If the knight captain has said you are marked then you are marked but he did say that the marking was faint. That means while you have gained the goddesses wrath it has not reached a point of no return. I hope that you understand though now that your marking has been seen we must report it to the high council of the church as well as put you down on our list. These lists are kept within the church and given out to any reaper that makes his duty known. They are also sent to the king of this kingdom and the surrounding ones.”
After the head priest had spoken, the duke sat heavily in his chair. “What have I done to gain the goddess wrath?” The duke asked plaintively. “I have never ordered the land salted. I have never killed nor ordered the death of a woman of child bearing age just to be safe. I have never ordered the death of anyone under the age of twenty-five without cause.”
As the duke went on the priest stopped him. “The goddess is forgiving on most crimes except for the salting of the land or the killing of the unborn or unripe. While she doesn’t want people to be killed before the age of twenty-five she mostly turns her eyes away from death once a person reaches adulthood unless there are special circumstances. Your crimes might not have been those but she has lesser commandments that most overlook. The goddess has no rules against sowing ones seed in open fields but there is one against sowing ones seed in another man’s field,” the priest said looking toward Tina. “And while most the time that would not gain you her mark you did so against one of her chosen wives. She watches her children the closest and it is possible she had seen your actions and marked you then.”
“What am I to do?” The duke asked looking at the head priest.
“There is no easy fix to a mark. The goddess is not omnipotent. She does not watch every being every second of every day. You could become the perfect follower but unless she notices and revokes your mark it would still hang above your head until the next reaper sees it. Currently you have already made an enemy of a reaper and one well connected. The goddess does not ban the use of armies to kill a target. In fact there have been many times when the reapers have called upon the church knights to help them kill a noble target who had hidden behind his army.”
The duke left later but his eyes lingered on Ash for just a moment and Ash could see the hatred hidden behind them. The man didn’t blame the goddess or his own actions for the brand now hanging over his head. He blamed Ash for it. In the dukes mind if Ash and Tina had spurned him then none of this would have happened. His own actions didn’t even seem to register in his mind as wrong.
As Ash watched the man leave with his guards he could only shake his head. “The king will learn of his actions and no doubt he will be punished. The king keeps a knight of each church at his call and sometimes at his side so that any claim against a noble by the church can be examined for truthfulness. Galos is deeply linked with the god of creation and craft. It is even a law that the king must marry a priestess of Herien as his third wife. Herien and Altina are considered close so the goddess of the harvest takes a distant second within the kingdom but the words of her priests and knights still have weight. No kingdom can survive without Altina because without here there is no food.”
“I just hope that he doesn’t cause any more problems,” Ash said as he looked toward the door that the duke had left through.
“As long as you are within Relar you are safe from most threats but assassins are hard to guard against. I doubt that the duke would go that far though. If you died after his visit no one would think that it was unrelated.”
“I hope you are right,” Ash said with a heavy sigh. There was a chance that the duke would let things go but Ash doubted it. The look in the man’s eyes had been like flames as they had focused on him.
After leaving the main hall Ash and Tina returned to their room. “That man really needs to die,” Tina said as soon as the door to their room was shut. “The other me should have made his marking much deeper. If it was dark red then not even the knights would have allowed him to leave that room even if it meant war with the kingdom of Galos.”
“You really don’t like the duke,” Ash said with a slight chuckle at seeing Tina’s blood thirsty face which looked more like a kitten getting ready to attack. You knew that the claws were sharp but it just looked too adorable to take seriously.
“I
just don’t like people who think that any woman they see should service them,” Tina said defensively. “The counts son was bad but he was still young and while he was a cad he still approached me for marriage instead of just hinting that I should crawl into his bed like the count.”
“That was just because you were dressed as a priestess,” Ash replied. “If you were still wearing the grey dress of a commoner he would have acted just like the duke.”
“Maybe but even from what I heard of the counts son he was more covert in his dalliances. The duke did it in the bright of day in the middle of someone’s meal while they were with their husband. We were getting such a nice mood going too.”
“That is what made you mad isn’t it?” Ash asked his eyes going a little wide. “You could care less what he asked you all you really cared about was that he ruined the mood.”
Tina looked at Ash for a brief second before turning her eyes away. “So,” she said in a slightly pouting voice. “The mood is important when having a romantic meal. The duke shattered it like a glass being hit with a sledgehammer.”
Ash grabbed Tina and hugged her. “I swear that for a goddess you are really moody sometimes.”
“You just better be careful not to make me mad,” Tina said still refusing to look at him. “If you think a normal woman is mad when she is pissed wait until you have to face the wrath of a goddess.”
Ash wanted to laugh but he knew that she was right. Emelia as bad enough when she was mad at him he shuddered at the thought of Tina in such a mood. Worse yet if the two of them were mad at him at the same time. If something like that ever happened it might be best to hide out under a rock for a few dozen years.
14-6
Reborn: Demons Return Page 4
