Charu blinked at Sean’s blunt nature.
“I’ll only hurt him a little,” Sean said.
“Kell, withdraw the offense,” Charu said at once.
“What? Mother, do you hear yourself? Did this… woman do something to you?” Kell stared at Helga as he asked the last question.
“Just go outside,” Flamehair sighed. “Champions?”
“No,” Kell snorted. “He thinks he’s my equal? Let him learn his folly. Swords only.”
“Sure,” Sean sighed as his mithril armor covered his body. “Let’s go.”
The trio of visitors stared at Sean when his armor appeared. Their eyes went wider when Sean pulled Dark Cutter and let the adamantine blade rest on his shoulder.
“Sean, no! Please,” Flamehair said with worry. “Not that.”
Sean looked at his sword, then sighed. “Fine.” He sheathed it. “I’ll borrow Helga’s.”
Flamehair still looked worried, but they all followed him as he started walking.
Once they stepped outside, Sean held out his hand and Helga passed him her sword. Again, the three nobles looked shocked at the sudden appearance of something that hadn’t been there before.
Sean took up a position and waited. “Blood, right?”
“Yes,” Charu said before Kell could.
“Works for me. Saval, do you want to moderate?”
“You trust me?” Saval asked.
“Look, I didn’t mean the insult, but this won’t take long.”
Kell growled as he pulled his own sword. The mithril blade gleamed green. “No, it won’t.”
“No, Kell,” Charu said. “Use your brother’s sword. Your acid blade doesn’t cause bleeding.”
“He can use it,” Sean smiled. “It’ll be fine. Come on, I need to get home. I’m having the Bloodhearts over for dinner.”
Kell snorted and took up a stance a dozen feet from Sean. “Of course you are.”
Saval shook his head and went to stand between the men, but twenty feet back. “Ready?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes,” Kell smirked.
“Fight.”
Kell came on fast, but his eyes went wide when blue energy played down Sean’s blade. He parried Sean’s lazy strike and his entire body went rigid. Sean sighed as he raised his sword and nicked Kell’s cheek.
Stepping back, Sean lowered the sword. “Done.”
Saval blinked in shock as blood oozed from the cut. “The duel is over.”
Kell nearly fell when his muscles unlocked. “What?!”
“Electricity can be a real bitch,” Sean said. “Anyway, the duel is over.” He handed the sword back to Helga. “Now, can we just pass over the insult?”
“The insult is cleared,” Saval said, looking at Sean with fear.
“Cool,” Sean smiled. “Ven, let Arliat know we’re ready, please.”
A silver flash caught everyone’s attention.
“Sean, will you be at the inn tonight?” Flamehair asked.
“Should be. I’ll see you then?”
“Yes,” Flamehair smiled. “I’ll be working with my family until then. When can you work on refining the invention, and what do we call it?”
“A toilet, and the next couple of days.”
“Very well,” Flamehair replied. She looked to the side as Arliat drove the car around. “Have a good day.”
“You, too,” Sean smiled.
The nobles stared at the car. They were still staring when Sean and Helga got in and Arliat drove them away.
Chapter Twenty
Sean greeted the Bloodheart family, or the three members that had come to his house, at least. “Welcome to my home. We’re informal here, so just call me Sean, please.”
Julian Bloodheart gave Sean a long look. “We aren’t so informal, but I will try. Let me introduce my daughter, Hallie Bloodheart.”
The auburn-haired woman gave Sean a nod. Her light blue eyes went up and down his body as she clearly appraised him. She wore a neutral expression, but Sean could see the disappointment in her eyes. She had a cane that she rested lightly on— the dark wood had a polished mithril head shaped into a ball that fit her hand perfectly.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sean MacDougal,” Hallie said. “My brother has spoken of your kindness and generosity, but has failed to mention specifics.”
“That’d be because of the Agreement,” Sean said, “which you are willing to take, I’ve heard.”
“We are,” Julian said tensely. “An Agreement to keep your secrets, with our lives in the balance.”
“That’s correct.”
“Just one thing,” Julian said. “If you injure her, I do not care what it costs me— you will pay.”
Sean met Julian’s eyes, not flinching from the hardness in them. “If I hurt her, I’d be willing to help you.”
Julian snorted. “I, Julian Bloodheart, do promise to keep the secrets of Sean MacDougal on my life. In return, he will tell us what those are and help my daughter.”
“I, Hallie Bloodheart, do promise to keep the secrets of Sean MacDougal on my life. In return, he will tell us what those are and help me,” Hallie said only a heartbeat after her father.
“I accept the Agreements of Hallie and Julian Bloodheart,” Sean said before feeling the weight settle on him. “Very well. Do you want to hear the story first, or get right to my healing her?”
Hallie inhaled slowly, her face becoming cold. “I can’t be healed,” she said frostily. “It’s not an injury.”
“Easy,” Toivo Bloodheart said. “Let’s sit. You can heal her first.”
Julian’s face was clouded, but he helped Hallie to the sofa and sat beside her. “Let’s see this miracle.”
Sean took a knee beside the sofa, holding his hand out to Hallie. “Your hand, please, miss?”
Hallie’s jaw tightened and she thrust her hand into his forcefully. “Let’s end this farce.”
“Julian, can you uncover her foot?” Sean asked gently as he closed his eyes and sent his energy into her. “Hmm... you sprained your left wrist. Your back is tight, too. Did you sleep wrong?”
Hallie’s eyebrows went up before she went into a frown. “Any healer could do that.”
Julian hesitated to uncover his daughter’s malformed foot. It shamed her, and he knew she hated it being seen.
Bloodheart went to his knee beside Sean and took Hallie’s foot in hand. “I’ll do it, Father.”
Julian grimaced and looked away. Hallie, seeing her father’s shame, gritted her teeth. Closing her eyes, she clenched her free hand, hating that she caused him such distress.
The moment Hallie’s foot was uncovered, Sean pushed his energy down to her foot. Hallie had a clubfoot— there were no toes, as the metatarsals ended early. His energy rushed down to her shortened foot and Sean let it pool for a moment.
“There’s going to be pain. The last arm I regrew, the man nearly passed out,” Sean said.
“I can deal with pain,” Hallie growled. “Either do it or admit you can’t.”
“Julian, you might want to be ready to help her,” Sean said as he focused his energy to start growing her bones.
Hallie’s eyes went wide when she felt her foot tremble and shiver. She snapped her jaw shut as the pain began. She would have his head if he failed after inflicting this pain on her.
Julian, seeing Hallie go white, looked down at her foot. Fresh pale bone extended from it. Swallowing, he watched as the metatarsals finished growing, then watched as the muscles and tendons grew over the bone. “Summer’s sweet milk...” Julian whispered.
Bloodheart’s eyebrows went up at his father’s curse, but he had to agree that watching his sister’s foot being finished in his hand was awe-inspiring. He’d seen an arm regrown not that long ago, but this was more poignant, as it was family.
Hallie grit her teeth, grinding them together to stop from crying out as tears fell from her eyes. Her father’s curse got her to look his way to see his awe. She looked at
her brother holding her foot and saw the same expression. Leaning forward, she looked down at her foot with shock— her foot was growing in front of her own eyes. The pain seemed to fade as she felt the same awe her family showed.
“Husband, are our…? Oh, they are,” Fiona said, coming into the room. She caught sight of their faces and smiled. Moving over to Sean, she looked down and nodded. “Always helping others. We have a little over an hour for dinner, so take your time.”
Julian blinked, tearing his eyes away from Hallie’s foot to see Fiona give him a smile and walk away as if what was happening was commonplace. Shocked, he looked back down at his daughter’s foot.
It took a while, but Sean eventually exhaled as the toenails finished growing in. “Okay, this is the last part— the nerves. Toivo, hold her foot firmly. Her nerves are going to fire and spasm for a few seconds, and you don’t want to get kicked.”
“I’m ready,” Bloodheart said, holding his sister’s foot at the ankle and heel.
Sean pushed the last bit of energy to grow the nerves and connect them to the existing ones. He heard the gasp and held onto Hallie’s hand as she flinched. When he was done, he let go of her and exhaled deeply. “All done. You have a new foot.”
All three Bloodhearts stared at the new appendage with hope. Hallie tried flexing her toes, and they bent as they should. With a sob, she yanked her foot from her brother, pulling it into her lap and gently touching it. The soft pressure of her fingers made her cry harder as she squeezed her new toes.
Sean took a seat in a chair and waited as the family accepted what had just happened.
When they finally calmed enough to remember where they were, Julian coughed, “MacDougal, I—!”
“Sean,” Sean corrected him gently. “Just Sean, please.”
Julian blinked at him for a moment before taking a deep breath. “Sean... Thank you. You gave her her life back.”
“No,” Sean shook his head, “I gave her a foot. Her life was always hers.”
“No...” Hallie sniffled, still mastering herself. “I shamed my family. I was the cripple who proved my family to be fading.”
“What?” Julian asked, shocked. “That isn’t true!”
“I’ve seen your shame when you looked at my foot for decades, Father,” Hallie said softly. “It’s okay. You don’t have to hide the truth.”
“No,” Julian said again. “I was never ashamed. I just felt pi—” He snapped his jaw shut.
“Pity,” Hallie snorted. “Yes, for the cripple who couldn’t fight like the rest of our family.”
“You fight perfectly well,” Bloodheart said, moving to take a seat. “You bested a number of your peers.”
“Because they think I am more crippled than I am. If they fought me like an equal, I would have lost many of those fights.”
“Excuse me,” Sean said, cutting into the pending argument. “Would you like to spar now?”
All eyes went to him and Sean chuckled. “My family normally trains before dinner. I believe they were going to call it off because we have guests, but if you’d like to prove your skill and test that foot, well, we can do it now.”
Hallie was on her feet in an instant. “Yes.”
Sean grinned at her. “Straight down that hall and out the door ahead of you.”
Hallie walked away, her cane resting beside her father on the sofa.
Julian watched her and swallowed hard. He looked at the cane and picked it up slowly, then raised his gaze to Sean. “She moves naturally... Thank you.”
“Come on. You’ll fight, too,” Sean said, getting up. “Ven, assemble the family.” He hesitated, then sighed, “Except the cooks. They’re busy with the feast.”
“Yes, sir,” Ven said from above him.
~*~*~
Sean laughed at the end of the match. “You’re my better, Julian.”
“You are equal to many of my sons,” Julian replied.
“Why not have a match with Toivo?” Sean suggested as he stepped aside.
Julian gave his son a critical examination. “Hmm, why not, indeed? Toivo, front and center.”
Bloodheart moved into the open space of the yard. “I shall do my best, Father.”
“I expect you to,” Julian said sharply. “If you want my approval, you had better push me hard, boy.”
Bloodheart’s expression became sharp. “For Amedee,” he said softly.
“Helga, are you ready?” Sean called up to the floating officiator.
“Yes, Sean.”
“You have the field.”
“Gentlemen, are you ready?” Helga asked.
“Yes,” both men replied.
“Fight!” Helga called.
They rushed each other, their wooden swords in motion. The sharp clack-clack of training blades hitting each other echoed in the yard. Everyone watching was captivated by the sheer martial prowess on display between the two Knights. Sean followed along, seeing the attacks, parries, and ripostes a second before they happened. After a minute, both men backed away.
“Good,” Julian said. “I expected at least that much from you. Now, show me what she means to you.”
Bloodheart didn’t reply. Instead, he switched his sword to his left hand. “Another blade please?”
Helga tossed down her own practice blade. “Use mine.”
Bloodheart caught it, but in doing so, his eyes came off his father. Julian attacked in that instant, intent on ending it before it started. Bloodheart snagged the blade and still managed to parry the attack away, but he was on his back foot.
Julian pressed into his advantage, his face a mask of intense focus. His sword came inches from striking Bloodheart cleanly time and again only to be turned away with one blade or the other. “Dual wielding isn’t an answer!” he hissed at his son.
“It works to help even the field,” Bloodheart said calmly as he got his balance back. “Now I will take the lead.”
Julian found himself pressed back by his son. A smile came to him, as he had to work to keep the younger Bloodheart from winning. “Good. You want to court her this badly? Fine. Win and I’ll allow it. Fail an—”
Bloodheart didn’t let his father finish. As soon as he said he’d allow it, Bloodheart surged. His attacks became vicious, slamming into Julian’s sword with a frenzy. Forced to shut up, Julian’s eyes widened slightly as he struggled to keep up with the onslaught.
Bloodheart was suddenly inside his range, having had to use both of his swords to close. No one expected him to headbutt his father, Julian the least of all. Eyes watering and blood flowing from his broken nose, Julian managed to nick Bloodheart’s left arm.
Bloodheart dropped the sword, but his right-hand blade poked up under his father’s chin. “I win.”
Julian dropped his sword and pulled his son into a bear hug. “You did it, my boy!”
Sean blinked, surprised by the sudden shift. He looked around to find the others equally surprised except for Hallie, who was crying and clapping with a large smile on her face. He slid over to stand beside her. “Uh, what does that mean?”
“He won! He won!” Hallie cried happily. “He’ll be accepted fully back into the family.”
“Must be a story I don’t know about,” Sean said.
Hallie nodded. “Yes, but it’s good. He’ll be back and he gets to court Mageeyes. Toivo refused all potential matches arranged by our father, having said he had his partner picked out and that he would court only her. Father all but disowned him, making him an outcast with the family name. He said he’d accept him back in if he ever won a duel against him.”
“So tonight has a lot of reasons to celebrate,” Sean smiled.
Hallie sniffled and nodded. “Yes.” She grabbed Sean, hugging him tightly. “Thank you.”
Sean, with his arms caught to his sides and not wanting to hurt her, just stood there awkwardly. When he looked back to the father and son, he found them both staring at him. “Uh, wait. This isn’t my fault.”
“She hasn’t h
ugged a person since she was a child,” Julian said archly.
“It’s time to clean up,” Fiona said. “Knights, Dame, if you’d like to avail yourselves to our bath? We have enough time to clean up before dinner.”
Julian tilted his head back. “Hmm, I might need some stuffing for my nose.”
Noble Solutions Page 19
