Faerie's Champion

by M. H. Johnson

  “This man. What is his name?”

  “Captain Vilsetch, my lady.”

  Jess spat his name like a curse. "Captain Vilsetch is a diabolist. He had you all compelled. Subtly, perhaps. I could barely sense it, and few have the power to compel true enslavement. But it was enough that once you had accepted him as your captain, fought under his leadership, it would never occur to you to question his orders. I suspect he was smart enough to make unreasonable demands few and far between, but the marks of his taint even now are present."

  The knight's gaze hardened. Jess looked to Hillcrest, who gave a solemn nod. "With your permission?"

  The knight smiled. "So long as you do not kill him, you have it."

  Jess nodded. "Thank you." With that, despite his weak struggles, Jess stripped Vilsetch of all armaments and attire, till he was naked save for silken undertunic. She paused to gaze coldly at the discomfited knights, more than a few looking less than pleased.

  "I can understand why you would think ill of me so poorly treating your injured captain. Indulge me but a moment longer, and see if you think my rough handling unwarranted, then.

  Smiling coldly into the suddenly frightened captain's eyes, Jess tore off his undertunic.

  The band of knights gasped and hissed.

  For the foul sigils of an infernalist radiating subtle magics that Jess could just sense, had been seared into Vilsetch's flesh, long ago. Scars perpetually livid, in sharp contrast to his pale skin, now laid bare for all to see.

  "How did you know?" Hillcrest quietly asked, even as the youngest of the knights quickly tied the diabolist's wrists, gazing at his one-time commander with cold hate.

  Jess grimaced and shook her head. “Just a feeling.”

  “Sir. Is what she said true? All I see are tattoos,” said one of the knights.

  Hillcrest gazed at the young knight, a sandy-haired lad little older than Jess. "I recognize the sigils, Johann. One of Duke Smida's allies had scribes carefully sketch the markings upon a coven of diabolists who had raised arms against him, several seasons ago, and Duke Smida took the warning to heart."

  "It sounds like your duke trusts you implicitly, Knight Hillcrest," Rulia said.

  The man smiled. "I have stood with him since first I earned my spurs at eighteen summers." He chuckled softly then. "And until now, I did not think to wonder how Vilsetch had become such a trusted member of the duke's circle, so quickly, that he was our captain after but a handful of seasons. The man is a competent tactician and swordsman, but no more so than the rest of us. Strong, though. His lance never bends or quivers, he can send anyone of us to the ground when we spar."

  Lord Hillcrest sighed. "Duke Smida allows no freeman within his duchy armaments in excess of quarterstaves and belt knives, and regular patrols keep our roads free of banditry. Thus we have have little to fear with insurrection, and little reason to search commoners for the runes of a dark pact. Merchants doing exceedingly well we will sporadically check, yet only one overly aggressive trader was ever found to have the markings. We never thought, amongst ourselves..." The knight gave a sad shake of his head. "The more fool we."

  “Jess!”

  Jess felt a cold bolt if dread lance through her, even as Rulia's panicked cry washed over her.

  She pivoted and turned, even as a now free Vilsetch launched for a stumbling Rulia, vile sigils seeming to blaze with unholy light upon his flesh, Jess instantly sensing the surge of dark power fueling Vilsetch's inhuman strength.

  In a flash, Jess saw the shattered cordage, the panicked gaze of a gasping knight trying desperately to quell the blood spurting from his neck, even as a now madly laughing Vilsetch crashed into Rulia, plunging his bloodied dagger straight for Rulia's throat.

  Rulia screamed, panicked eyes gazing into Jess's own.

  Even as she stumbled back, trying desperately to ward the dagger blow.

  But there was no time.

  Jess moved as fast as thought. Her heart screamed in panicked fury.

  The arming sword she held, scored with her own blood for reasons she only now fathomed, arced through the air in a move so fast droplets of blood from Vilsetch's shattered mouth hung with odd stillness in the air, even as Jess's burning blade cut through them.

  Tearing through Vilsetch's skull in one blisteringly fast strike.

  Coating the shocked knights and a stunned Rulia in a patina of crimson as the top half of Vilsetch's head spun off some distance away, his body toppling over with eerie stillness, and Jess could almost imagine the distant screams of a marked soul torn free of Dawn's gentle grasp, plummeting down into unimaginable horror. A sobbing Rulia collapsed into Jess's arms but seconds later, all the knights present gazing at Jess in stunned disbelief.

  24

  Cool brown eyes oddly familiar gazed into Jess's own.

  “And that is the entirety of your report, Squire?”

  Jess placed fist to heart. “Yes, Your Grace. Vilsetch did then break his bonds, and much to my regret, did grievously injure one of your sworn men before I could bring him down.”

  Duke Smida turned his gaze to Lord Hillcrest, receiving a confirmatory nod. “I have little further to add, Your Grace. Her report is complete. She was indeed making her way for this inn as we were told to expect, with the piebald pack mare described.”

  The knight paused, dipping his head to Jess. “And just as she had claimed, there was naught but millet in the horse's packs. We took the liberty as well of checking her and her companion's mounts. There is no contraband of any sort, my lord, not even a lady's vices, let alone toxins sufficient to poison a regiment.”

  Jess frowned. “I did not think herbs to delay the moontide were considered lady's vices."

  “I meant tincture of opium, Dame Calenbry.”

  Jess's frown only deepened. "If such is becoming popular enough to earn the moniker you gave it, the Council needs to be wary. More than very occasional usage leads to the worst sorts of mental anguish, as one becomes enslaved to the tincture, body and soul." She turned to gaze solemnly at the duke. "It would be a viable route for our southern neighbors to attempt to gain influence in Council, if half the lord's wives are enslaved to that nectar. A desperate woman might do anything, anything at all, to relieve themselves of the torments they would feel, should their new masters deny them their poison."

  The duke's smile was grim. “I know.”

  For all that his demeanor was cool, Jess sensed no trace of malice in the man before her, which relieved her heart more than she could say. Perhaps there had been something more. But whatever brooding gray had tainted the man's perception of Jess, it had quickly morphed into something very like gratitude, along with his openly awestruck son, who looked very much like someone Jess knew, even as Jess brought the various injured knights to the duke's well appointed quarters at the inn as rapidly as was feasible while Lord Hillcrest gave his own report. She declined any fellow knights' assistance with her mission of mercy, knowing she was faster and able to give a smoother carry, racing back and forth from the sight of the unfortunate battle, before helping Duke Smida's healer as best she could.

  Jess was relieved beyond words that the healer had managed to stabilize the survivors, though she thought the look of gratitude the woman flashed Jess was hardly warranted. She hadn't done that much to assist, as far as she could tell, and she had been the primary source of their injuries, after all.

  The duke chuckled softly. "Rumors of the prowess of Eloquin's Squires is not undeserved, I see." He gazed at Jess fully then, after checking over his men. "I do not begrudge you having done what was necessary to survive the horrific folly this evening has become. I know full well how hard Eloquin and Hyve push their Squires and Aspirants, demanding that all battles be fought with fanatic zeal. If anything, I should be grateful that you had the presence of mind to offer parlay, after two passes with lance and mace." His shook his head. "And you receiving no injury of any sort."

  Jess bowed her head, even as Rulia gently squeezed her sho
ulder. “She saved my life from that madman Vilsetch, even as he sought my death, even as he sought both our deaths, using whatever foul charms those sigils point to, manipulating your men,” Rulia said softly, even as the duke switched his gaze to her own.

  “The VonBurg clan, yes?”

  Rulia stiffened, before giving a slow nod.

  The duke nodded. “I know little of that clan, save that they are northern fiefdom holders.” He tilted his head. “You don't hold yourself like a student of Highrock, but your family has taught you how to fight well enough, it seems.” He paused, considering. “You are honorable and obviously loyal to your lover. These are traits I respect. Should you find yourself seeking patronage, my door is open to you.”

  Rulia flushed, bowing to her waist. “For the most generous offer, I thank you, Duke Smida.”

  Jess flushed for different reasons, not realizing that her relationship with the girl leaning beside her even now had been quite so obvious. When Rulia's soft lips brushed against her cheek, though, Jess smiled and squeezed her hand. “I am glad you are safe, Rulia.”

  Rulia smiled into her eyes. “So am I, my knight.”

  The duke quietly consulted with his healer before turning to face them once more. "Now, I think, it behooves us to get to the bottom of this. I would hunt down whatever serpent seeks to use my men for their own foul purposes, so that all know that there is a price to be paid, attempting to manipulate a high lord of Erovering."

  Jess bowed her head. “My sword stands ready to assist, Your Grace.”

  Shortly after that, Duke Smida's train made their way back to the academy, uninjured knights with polished helms and breastplates once more, thanks to furiously busy pages; horses rubbed down, coats lightly oiled, hardly looking as if they had fought for their lives that very evening. Jess herself had time for a quick sponge bath, having slipped into attire provided as a courtesy by the duke, finding the gentleman's attire more comfortable than any dress, even with the shirt of mail she wore tightly secured underneath.

  Accompanying them was a full complement of Smida armsmen equipped almost as well as any knight. An impressive show of strength, but what truly struck Jess as remarkable was the number of lesser nobles who had sworn themselves directly to the duke's service accompanying them, even now.

  All in all, Jess was quite impressed, offhandedly wondering how Smida's wealth compared to the diOnni's, an answer his oldest son Johann had been more than happy to wax eloquent about, being as he had accompanied her for the entirety of the carriage ride back to the academy, gazing at Jess with open admiration the entire time, for all that she was now wearing a man's doublet and hose. It was just a bit tight around her chest, yet she enjoyed being able to move her shoulders without hindrance, the cut almost identical to her Highrock attire.

  Jess smiled at Johann's attempts to be witty and funny, his endearing nature sufficient to earn a chuckle or two from Jess and Rulia both.

  "As you may know from the old accounts, centuries ago we had a vast empire of stone and steel, and marvelous mechanical vehicles looking like nothing so much as a great train of wagons all fastened to one another on metal tracks that stretched to forever, racing across our great continent on nothing more than the power of steel and steam."

  The young man sighed, gentle blue eyes alight with thoughts of a bygone era. "In those days, it was said that a good smith could make a perfect suit of full plate, such that a man almost looked like an automaton himself, and no weapon save lance or lucky swing with a poleaxe could hope to pierce his armaments, even as he stood sentinel atop grand walls of ivory white stone, against a backdrop of an entire city of buildings so tall they kissed the very heavens!"

  Jess smiled at the fantasy, enjoying the majesty of it, and who better than she, who had strode across lands of living dream, to appreciate the wonder of a good fable? "It sounds like a wonderful time to be alive," Jess nodded.

  “Oh, indeed it was!” Johann of the gentle temperament and mousy brown hair enthusiastically concurred. “But then the cataclysm happened.” He sighed. “And now steel has turned brittle and easily shattered if worked into any large piece that lacks symmetrical edges, for whatever odd reason that would be, which may be fine for a sword, but does nothing for armor or buildings.” He then nodded at a smiling Lord Hillcrest's burnished breastplate. “Yet our House has been working for centuries to find the lost secrets of forging perfect steel. And even if there is much to learn, and even if we must layer a dozen thin plates together, we can at least make breastplates as strong as any to be found on the continent, less likely to shatter than what any other smith or workshop can produce in all of Erovering.”

  Jess gave an approving nod. “I thought I recognized the style. DiOnni himself made use of your best smiths in his gift to my brother, and General Eloquin special orders your breastplates for his Squires.” She couldn't help flashing an evil grin. “They still sometimes break, though, and I know for a fact that half fail their final test.”

  Johann looked momentarily flustered. “Well nothing's perfect, Jessica, and our breastplates are the best you'll find anywhere, I bet you!”

  Jess blinked, suddenly understanding why the boy looked so familiar to her. Her lips formed into a gentle smile, even as she stroked his surprised cheeks, happy that the three of them could make use of the duke's own carriage, the man in question insisting on riding mounted, and Jess wasn't surprised at all that he had agreed so readily to his son's request to ride alone with the women who had brought down a handful of his knights.

  "Forgive me, Johann, I was teasing you. Your clan's breastplates are indeed among the finest I've seen." Jess smiled, inviting confidences. "Tell me, Johann, do you by chance have a sister about your age attending the Royal Ladies Academy? Same light brown hair, the prettiest blue eyes?"

  Johann smiled. “Is it that obvious? I told her no one would be fooled, but Father loves to humor her, and she knows I will always come calling if she needs me.”

  Rulia gave a satisfied nod. "I see it too, now that you mention it. It seems that our dear little Juliana has been keeping secrets from us."

  Soon enough the carriage rolled to a stop. They had returned. Jess felt a momentary shiver of anticipation, her grin turning sharp and hungry, gentle camaraderie savored during their ride replaced with a fierce hunger for revenge.

  Perhaps Johann sensed this, for he paled and looked away from Jess, even as Rulia gently kissed his cheek. "We have things to take care of, my most noble and courteous friend," Rulia soothed. "I do hope you will forgive us, if we seem a bit distracted."

  Johann nodded. "I know. We have to get to the bottom of this." He offered a friendly smile. "I see the gala is in full swing. Everything else aside, I was hoping, if time permits..."

  Rulia chuckled throatily. “Perhaps after we do what needs to be done, we can all share a dance, young lord. And if not this eve, another, for if there is one single thing this academy does right, it is hosting galas galore.”

  Johann sighed and shook his head. “No doubt Father will want me to stay here.”

  “That is right,” said the duke even now approaching, his knights in tow. “You will stay here with our house guard. Our knights are coming with me.”

  “Surely I can attend the dancing, at least? We have arrived, and it would look odd otherwise. It is the perfect cover, is it not?”

  The duke gave a bemused nod. "Very well, Johann. Keep an eye out for your sister, make sure all is well for her. For if anyone has given her trouble..." His gaze turned hard as stone. Jess shivered but couldn't hold back a smile. No matter their shadowy backers, the academy matrons were playing a more dangerous game than they realized, if they made the mistake of mistreating too many girls of noble blood. For some had fathers who were very powerful indeed.

  “No worries, Father,” Johann soothed. “I am sure all will be well. Heading to her quarters will be my first objective.”

  "No point in that, dear Johann," Rulia said. "If she is not attending the gala
, she is making use of my suite." She smiled at the surprised looking duke. "No need for concern, your Grace. She is a close friend to Jess and I both. We keep an eye out for her, as her former roommates... proved unworthy of her."

  Jess nodded. "Whatever impression we may give, our sleeping arrangements are quite proper. My sister shares my suite, Juliana shares Rulia's. For all that we are at cross-purposes with the powers that be at this school, no disciplinarian has dared try to seize our quarters."

  A flash of alarm crossed Duke Smida's strong features, before softening to a rueful chuckle. “Your blade to my heart, in more ways than I realized, and yet still, the most honorable of knights you have been. You remind me of your father in many ways, Dame Calenbry. Things I had forgotten, since the war.” He gave a considered nod. “Perhaps that is for the best.”

  Duke Smida's thoughtful gaze turned hard. "You had mentioned your head disciplinarian in your report. I am familiar with this Lady Grimsly, and I can assure you that never before has she dared such treachery as this. If we ascertain that she was indeed the one pulling the strings? She will find the price to pay steep indeed."

  Jess chuckled darkly. “I see we are of like minds in this, Your Grace.”

  Shortly thereafter, Duke Smida's party came before the rather unhappy looking guard captain, his own men looking less than pleased to be facing a handful of fully kitted knights, but stood resolute before the grand pavilion nonetheless.

  “I am sorry, my lord. All armsmen are to wait by carriage this evening. Academy guards only, allowed within.”

  "I think that you will find that such is not the right approach to take, Belton," Duke Smida said, his gaze causing the captain to blanch and step away.

  "It's alright, Captain," Jess smiled. "The good duke and I are getting to the bottom of a rather unfortunate incident. And in point of fact, every one of these men before you are knighted members of the nobility, each one by their station and spotless reputation permitted to attend the gala, swords at hips. So no one can fault your adherence to protocol in the least. Now have you kept our package secure?" The captain brightened with Jess's presence, nodding with unmistakable relief. "Indeed I have, Dame Jess. And the lords present are most welcome, if their intentions are noble."