Gods of Shadow and Flame

by M. H. Johnson

  Jess grimaced, for all that she was unspeakably grateful to see Joshua's hard resolve start to weaken, to gaze at her as a friend once again. A friend, and perhaps something more. "I wish it were that easy, Joshua. I know all sorts of interesting theories go around, as if Delvers were magnets for trouble, that the oddest of events holds true for them alone, and when their time has passed, such odd adventure and happenstance fades from the realm of man to unlikely wonders relegated to myth and legend once more."

  "In truth, Jess, I really had hoped you were done with perilous adventure," Joshua admitted.

  Jess smiled and shrugged. “Unfortunately, such is not done with me. I was all but powerless when Franken committed his dark acts within the grove, Joshua, and connived for me to take the fall when I actually managed to interfere in time to save those girls.”

  She sighed, gazing out her bedroom window, escaping the probing gazes of the two men before her.

  “My enemies seek my death still, I have no doubt, and if I am powerless before them, all the better. Please. Have an expert examine those weapons. The veracity of my story depends on what he finds.”

  Alben frowned. “Unfortunately, Jess, the wizards best equipped for that happen to reside at Highrock, when our nation is not in a state of war. And I am given to understand by several very powerful players that Highrock owes its continued existence to both you and one Malek de Sousel, your sworn brother-in-arms, so the odds of us getting an impartial answer from them is slim to none.”

  Jess laughed at this. Her enemies allowed, as always, to strike from all corners. If she goes along, her life is in peril, and if she seizes the Vor, that alone will be seen as evidence of guilt. She blinked then, gazing at the cat only she could see. “Twilight, where is my mail shirt?”

  Twilight grinned. “A good point, my Jess. It should be inside your armament chest. The burst links have not been reforged.”

  She smiled and turned to Alben. “Look in the oak chest over yonder. You have my leave to open it. Pull out the mail hauberk that should not have been dumped in quite so casually without being cleaned and properly cared for, but there you have it, I suppose.”

  The captain was soon holding up her finely made shirt of mail. “You know how hard it is to break links of properly riveted mail of that thickness,” Jess said. “It tends to catch sword points exceedingly well, and the blade has to literally force the metal to burst with the pressure of it, even as the shirt rides the blade and cushions the blow, turning a lethal thrust into a poke with a stick, which of course can still crack bone and bruise flesh, but makes combat a far less deadly affair, especially if a proper gambeson or padding of any sort is worn underneath.”

  Alben gazed up at her. "This is common knowledge, Jess. What is your point?"

  She pointed to the rent left from the dagger that had thrust into her gut. "Look at it, Alben. Those links weren't just ruptured open, which would require the force of a knight's charge, or a poleaxe. The metal was corroded near instantly to rust. Does that look natural to you?"

  Alben frowned, gazing at the rent of warped and twisted rings, as if melted by a hideous heat, the central ones utterly corroded with rust. Yet three rings deep, the mail around the rent was utterly pristine, without a fleck of wear. Alben looked up then, locking gazes with Jess, his face oddly expressionless. "It looks exactly the same as the rent your armor suffered from Franken's blade, which we still have yet to retrieve."

  Jess felt her heart lurch at hearing those words. “You lost Franken's blade?”

  Joshua cursed softly himself. Alben's lips pressed tightly together.

  “I wouldn't say lost. There was only so much we could do in that courtroom before all those expected to secure the chamber and make a thorough investigation... left.”

  Jess blinked. "I had heard rumors of various servants refusing to even go inside, that the chamber was haunted. I walked by it a few nights ago, and for all that I could hear the howling wind..." She abruptly shook her head. "But never mind that. So, Franken's sword is still lost in there?"

  Alben shook his head. “No, Jess. That artifact I had retrieved with gloves myself, wrapped in burlap, and tagged. Yet there is no record of it having been returned to the capital along with the other evidence of note. In truth, it was a disorganized collection. Things could easily have been misplaced. Everything was hastily bundled together with what I regret to say was a minimum of order, before being carted off to the capital. Few of our men wanted to be in those chambers a moment longer than they had to be, happy to put out of sight and out of mind the ordeal we had suffered as quickly as possible. And dare I confess it, I was of the same mind myself, so it falls to me to bear responsibility for any missing evidence."

  The prince gave the grim-faced captain a comradely pat to his shoulder. "I too have scouted out those chambers, not one to believe the rumors. But the aura alone... fret not, captain. I would see you suffer no consequence for bearing with it as long as any man could be expected to. I give you and your men credit just for enduring that chamber for more than a span of minutes." Joshua shivered. “The light glimmers eerily in that room, and there is a constant odd wind brushing against your skin, for all that neither hair nor clothes rustle with its howl."

  Alben gave a soft nod, eyes strangely haunted. “And you can feel someone's gaze upon your back, every second you are in there. It feels almost as if, with a single misstep, if you linger there a moment too long, you might slip free of reality entirely.”

  Jess shivered, chilled despite herself. “By all the saints, you two make it sound like Malek tore a rift into Shadow itself. If you want to blame anyone, blame Franken and his foul attempts to murder a dozen nobles and half a dozen girls testifying counter to his schemes, when he couldn't get his way with my head on a pike!”

  Alben peered intently at Jess. “How black are the magics young Malek wields, Jess? I acknowledge that I owe him a debt. I am not such a fool as to think I would be having this conversation had he not arrived, but by the gods, every suspicion I had about his darkest nature, the nature of his weapon, was proven the instant he lashed out with that blade.”

  Jess frowned, disturbed to see how even remembrance of that fateful day effected the normally stoic and unreadable Alben. "Delver's arts are wild, unpredictable, and like nothing an elementalist would use. No one knows how they will manifest for anyone who braves Shadow, if at all. He is no demon, Alben. He is my closest friend. He would die for me, and I him."

  The inquisitor flashed a grim smile, even as Twilight chuckled softly. “Far worse than any demon could ever be, my queen. He is your Hound, after all.”

  Jess swallowed, her trembling hand stroking her purring cat, eyes locked upon Alben's own. "Malek has no bearing on this conversation save, as you said, he helped to save your life, your men, and the score of lords and daughters serving as jurors or giving evidence that day. So let's keep him out of it, and focus on the matter at hand. You saw the effect Franken's blade had on my shirt of mail. Rings rusted to nothing, others warped and melted as if they had been wax, and just a few rows down, perfect rings free of blemish. Just as you said, very much like the rent you see before you now. I have no doubt that if you were to examine my longsword, it would be pitted with the marks of Vardelos's saber from when our blades crossed."

  Alben nodded solemnly. "It was pitted and scored as if etched by acid, or the heat of a forge. Your hauberk and blade are evidence enough that foul play is possible, and reason enough to justify a formal opinion on the sword and dagger recovered. Is there anything else you would like to add?"

  Jess smiled, realizing she had little to lose. “I think that the head of his order is involved with whatever foulness was going on. And yes, save for your sworn duty to serve the king directly, I know he is your head as well. The Chief Inquisitor is the one who decides what noble is to be hunted down like a sheep, after all, a very powerful tool for one given to corruption. And if I were to die, conveniently, on the way to the capital, the king can give me
no reprieve, and it would perhaps have served as a lesson to anyone else who thought to cross him, that not even the girl who had helped Ulric return from Faerie is immune to the Chief Inquisitor's wrath, if his puppets dare to disobey him."

  Joshua blinked and smiled. "Somehow, the thought that you might be responsible for Ulric's return doesn't seem at all far-fetched."

  Jess nodded. "Yes, my prince. It is true. And Rulia, for all that my enemy would use her return as a pretext to accuse me of treason, was necessary. She and I both made that first journey to Faerie together. She and I both sought counsel from the Queen of Faerie during our first sojourn. Thus, when it came time to repair the bridge between our worlds, both of us had a role to play. Our prayers, our communion, our shared sacrifice, somehow worked to restore the bridge to Faerie once more."

  Joshua lifted a playful brow. “Your shared communion?”

  Jess felt herself flush. “We did what was necessary to repair the damage Franken had done, symbolic as it was. Our shared communion symbolized links reforged between our two worlds.”

  Twilight grinned. “Not that you realized it at the time. You were just hungry to taste your lover's kiss.” She locked eyes with both men present, pointedly ignoring her purring familiar.

  "Of all the bridges of moonlight and dream, ours alone still remained. For the other paths to Faerie had all been deliberately sullied by darkest ritual on the part of diabolists, beings who want Dawn only to have dealings with Hell, nothing pure or beautiful beyond. The ritual masterminded by Franken alone was disrupted, and you know all too well what happened after that, Alben, including his declarations that my garden was somehow unnatural, making it quite clear that he would burn it down to the last root and branch if he could, till my beautiful marvel was nothing but bitter ash covered by winter's unforgiving snow. And if he could have done that, he would have broken the final link to Faerie, his dark mission then complete."

  Joshua gave a grim shake of his head. “You paint a bleak picture, my Jess, yet your words ring true to my ears.”

  Alben nodded. "She never had the look of a liar, for all that some would declare her assertions little more than mad ravings and delusion. But it is an undeniable fact that Ulric has returned, long may he live, and if you assert that Rulia VonBurg's presence was needed to catalyze the repair of this mythical bridge and Ulric's return, you can hardly be faulted, as the king himself expected you to use any and all means at your disposal." He offered a wry smile. "And a commuting of accusations against your friend is a more than fair offer, after such a show of good faith on her part. I shall make sure various concerned parties are aware of your assertions, Jessica de Calenbry."

  Jess gazed carefully at the pair, coming to a decision.

  “There is a further step we can take. Both to back up my assertions, and, ultimately, to keep the prince and other innocents safe from daggers at their backs.”

  Joshua looked up at this, Alben grimacing slightly.

  “And what would that be?” Alben asked, his gaze making it clear that he knew already.

  “Much as you suspect yourself, Alben. If our dear Vardelos had arrived with unwritten orders to do away with me at all costs, no doubt some of his own daggers are mixed in with men of more honorable stock. Daggers that could easily be used to see that I never make it to the capital alive.”

  Joshua frowned at that. “I think I shall accompany you, if anyone thinks I will allow you to so easily fall into the wiles of other players yet again.”

  Alben's eyebrows raised in sudden alarm, even as Jess caught his eye and nodded.

  “Exactly.”

  “What?” Joshua asked.

  Jess smiled grimly. “What if that were the third permutation of our enemy's schemes? First, to be ready to kill me quick with cursed blades if I dared to resist arrest. For if he had succeeded in goading me into attacking him as I think he had hoped to, he would have been well within his rights to defend himself, no matter my station. If I had gone meekly with him, however, I suspect dispatching me in transit would have been his plan, and if you had accompanied me, my prince, I fear that our enemies would have been more than happy to take you out as well.”

  Joshua paled at this, frowning sharply. "That hardly makes sense, Jessica. If things have truly gone this far, they could have murdered me while we were making our way here.”

  Jess exchanged glances with Alben. His gaze made it all too clear that he already understood where she was going. "But this way, Joshua, they could take out one of the heirs to the throne while pinning it on the Calenbry clan, asserting that I had taken you hostage and run off to the woods where everyone knows I have unusual talents."

  Joshua stood stock still, paling at Jess's words. Jess nodded softly, speaking on. “It would have been the perfect maneuver to assassinate us both and assure the death of my clan entire, our enemies being able to show their cowed chattel in no uncertain terms the consequences of daring to resist their machinations, even as Erovering loses a prized general and an honest man, his entire family summarily executed, Calenbry assets no doubt funneled to the interests of our enemies, for all that they were to go to the Crown directly. Who knows? Our enemies might then imply in certain circles that the king was a growing tyrant, planting seeds of insurrection against the man who was but reacting to a tragedy they themselves had set in motion.”

  Jess gazed sadly at the man before her. "The use of your piece before the proper time would have served them little purpose in terms of furthering their endgame. No doubt they are confident that they can get rid of you anytime they desire, dearest Joshua."

  Joshua's lips curled into a snarl. "I was a fool to treat these men as a trusted unit of forces under my command. I am used to leading troops on the border, troops I know by name, men who have fought and bled for me. To think that I am at greater risk here near the capital than I am skirting Velheim sickens me. I would see these treacherous dogs hunted down. Each and every one."

  Alben allowed himself a bleak nod. “I assume you are thinking of an agent's gambit, Jessica? But we have forty possible accomplices. How will you whittle that down to a reasonable number?”

  Jess smiled. “Will you accept that perhaps I have some knacks that don't fall into the normal paradigms of magic?”

  Alben chuckled softly, much to Jess's surprise. “Considering that we are presently sheltering within a garden that stretches for a mile in all directions, enjoying perfect spring days in the depths of coldest winter, I would say that was something of an understatement, Jessica de Calenbry.”

  Joshua smiled. “We accept your premise, Jess.”

  Jess stroked her familiar thoughtfully. “Let's interview them. Mother is an excellent judge of character, as am I, in my own way. Those who seem... lacking, we put to Eloquin's favorite gambit, and with the plants at my disposal, I can assure you, it will be convincing.

  Joshua and Alben exchanged a look.

  “My prince?”

  “Thank you, Alben. Yes. Let's give Jessica's plan a chance. If nothing comes of it, well, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.”

  Alben's gaze, however, made it clear that if Jess's gamble failed to uncover any dark truths save her own paranoia, her position would turn grave indeed.

  Jess swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “Very well then,” she said softly, “if you will prepare things, I will talk to Mother, and we will see what we can find on the morrow.”

  “On the morrow, then, Jessica. And just for appearance's sake...”

  Jess smiled bitterly. "I know, Alben. Best I am seen to be recuperating in my quarters, so the question about whether or not I should be arrested once more never even comes up."

  Joshua flashed her a sad smile. "And best I seem impartial as well. Thus regretfully, I cannot even make this a social visit. Still, I await the day when this matter is behind us for good." He squeezed her hand once, slipping just behind Alben as they made their way to the door.

  “Protect him,” Jess said aloud, Joshua blinking
in surprise, even as Alben snapped fist to chest.

  “With my life.” The inquisitor smiled at the exasperated prince. “I have five men I know will fight with me to the gates of Hell. If you will permit me, Your Grace, I would be more than happy to attend the first duty of all officers of the Crown, and see to your safety and security.”

  Joshua gave a rueful shake of his head. “Very well, Alben. Since we shall be working together for the next few days at least, I see no harm in it.”

  The door quietly shut behind them as they made their arrangements for the days to come.

  Still sore, Jess forced herself up and towards the heart of their apartments, stepping out upon the terrace of hardwood and dreams as she liked to think of it, still set with several lonely tables that had once hosted any number of lords confessing to the depths of their folly over tea, biscuits, and endless games of cards. She softly squeezed the balcony, gazing out at the beautiful sight of endlessly blossoming flowers all about a pristine lake dotted with wisteria covered gazebos, nobles and their children taking their ease, strolling amongst the blossoms or fishing from the lake's edge, her famed rose maze just beyond.

  She enjoyed the feel of a perfect spring breeze rustling her hair, laden with the scents of endless fields of roses, tulips, honeysuckle and wildflowers.

  An island of perfect beauty and all the joys of spring, in the depths of the deadliest months of the year. Life striving against death in a dance as old as time.

  She felt strong hands gently caress her shoulders, smiling at a familiar presence.

  “Oh, my Jess. Why does life deal you such difficult cards?”

  Jess smiled, gently leaning back against her mother's comforting presence. "It's just the story I'm fated to tell, Mother. None of us can change our hands, lest we are willing to dare the Delver's gambit and venture into realms of dream and nightmare. A choice I made once, before choosing to give up the powers I had gained for a cause greater than myself. Now I am just Jess the girl once more, and it is for us to play our cards as best we may. And fortunately, with your help on the morrow, we will be ready to counter our enemies who seek to slay us still.”