The duelist 3, p.4
The Duelist 3, page 4
“Because the Spring was full of water that hurted if you touched it, and so the one hero who was like Momma had to make it okay,” the small girl said as we all watched the deer-woman step into the pool of knee-deep water. Her russet-colored dress floated out around her legs like a lily pad, and her hands were folded against her heart as if in prayer.
The surface of the pool flashed like a bright silver coin, and a small trickle of water suddenly spouted from the lips of the Sacred Fish statue.
“Yay!” Meera clapped her hands and dipped her toes into the water as a dense mist rose out of the pool like dry ice and began to creep along the ground.
Dawn then walked out of the pool as if she was still in a trance of some sort and headed for the other pool on the other side of the stone path that ran down the center of the garden.
“After the ancient Spring was prepared, the Goddess told the Ashers the time had come to prove their worth,” Lord Mec continued on with his tale when we joined Dawn over by the other pool. “She explained the blood they spilled would be transformed due to their sacrifice, and from that point on, Asher blood could be used to make the pebbles we use to purify our waters.”
“But there was one final test, which was a test of the mind,” Dawn said as she ushered Meera away to go play, and Rylan took that as his cue as well and went off to help entertain the mischievous deer-girl. “Alex, come into the water.”
I kicked off my boots and waded out into the pool as she requested.
“Just like the Ashers who came before, you will be asked to give all you are for the goodness of the people who rely on your protection,” Mec said, and he must have been using his Voice because the very air felt supercharged when he spoke. “Do you accept this edict?”
“I do,” I said solemnly as Dawn’s hands came down to rest on my shoulders.
“Good,” the ram-lord said and took off his own boots so he could wade into the water with us. “Remember the conviction you feel when you are asked this question again. If you do not feel as strongly as you do now by looking at the faces of your loved ones, you run the risk of dying, or going mad as some of the Ashers did when they stood in the ancient Spring.”
“Noted,” I said, and I glanced at each of my radiant wives standing on the edge of the pool as Dawn’s ethereal light enveloped me. I felt a warming sensation spread all the way down to my toes, and I smiled lightly at the effervescent tingles at the base of my spine.
“You are now primed for the ceremony, my son!” the ram-lord declared and clapped me on the back with his baseball mitt of a hand. “I have already taken the liberty of leaving your ceremonial shield with one of your farmhands for you to practice in the coming days.”
“Oh, good, it’s probably in the barn, thank you,” I said as the three of us walked out of the water that was now no longer smoking in that mysterious dry ice way.
“You must practice every day along with your meditation,” he said and shook his feet free of water one foot at a time. “I hope by now you have realized the necessity of meditation and are diligent in your discipline, thus.”
“Yeah, I definitely found out the hard way why meditation is important,” I said as I briefly recalled the weird fevers and freaky shadow world I accidentally fell into while dreaming one time. “I’ve been better at it, I promise.”
“Good,” Mec rumbled, and I felt a spike of pride at the look on his face.
Before we could discuss the coming events even further, Meera came running around the corner with tears in her big doe-eyes.
“H-Help!” she wailed and threw herself into her father’s arms. “It’s Rylan! A monster has him!”
Chapter 3
“It’s not a monster,” Rylan’s disgruntled voice said a moment before he appeared from around the mural. “It’s just the monger.”
An ugly, black-feathered bird that looked like a cross between a crane and a praying-mantis was balancing on Rylan’s head as the miffed stable-boy marched toward us, and it cocked its molting head and blinked its creepy yellow eyes. The pinpricks of its pupils darted around at all the people starting, and in its slobbery pincered mouth there was an envelope.
“Igoric, you nasty thing!” Shay exclaimed and hurried over to the stable-boy.
“He won’t get off,” Rylan grumbled, and when he tried to wave the creature away, it merely hung on with its talons even harder. “Ouch!”
“Bad monster!” Meera cried and flailed her arm in the direction of the crane-mantis.
“Hey!” I shouted at the ugly creature, and it cocked its head a full one-eighty in my direction. Then I pulled the cracked amulet off my neck and held it up so it would sparkle in the sunlight.
The monger hissed and dropped the letter it had in its pincers.
“That’s right, you like shiny things, don’t you?” I said and then tossed the object to the side. “Go get it!”
“Bucaw!” Igoric hollered and launched off Rylan’s head after his prize.
“Stupid bird!” Rylan said as he brushed a few of Igoric’s feathers off his tunic.
“How’s your head, kiddo?” I asked and patted his ruffled hair that was now sticking up all over.
“Fine, but that dumb monger better watch it!” he snarled, and the crane-mantis hissed at him from where it was trying to bury the amulet in the dirt.
“Okay, tough guy, but I think you need to go show Meera you’re alright,” I chucked and nudged Rylan in the direction of where the little deer-girl was still clinging to her father with tears dripping off her chin.
“Hey, Meerie!” he said and waved a hand. “Don’t worry, I’m okay.”
When she continued to stare at him with uncertainty, Rylan walked over to prove to her he was alright, and he even did a dorky little jig until she was giggling once more.
“Glad you’re okay, lad,” Lord Mec rumbled and patted the stable-boy on the head. “I’m afraid we have taken up most of your morning and ought to let you go about your afternoon.”
“Hey, Gavlain, will you ever explain to me why you really need me to do this ceremony?” I asked as I finished putting on my boots along with everyone else. “Now that I have these pools up and running, I could just add any extra tithe stones you need for the island, or whatever.”
“It would be unwise to put you in that position,” Mec said as he set his little daughter on the ground. “And I understand I still haven’t fully revealed your importance, but just know the favor you are doing for me will be repaid hopefully tenfold.”
“I’ll help you get your carriage, Lord Mec!” Rylan said, and he led the way with Meera’s hand in his.
“Such a good lad,” Mec said as he watched his wife follow after the kids. “It seems like he has found his way living here. He always seemed to struggle with his place, but you have been a good influence on him.”
“He’s truly one of a kind,” I chuckled and shook my head.
“I also wanted to give this back to you.” The ram-lord reached into his cloak and pulled out a silver medallion about the size of a fifty-cent piece.
The medallion was taken off Gordos and his lackey Gutter, who’d tried to lead us into a trap. Apparently, the little trinket may or may not be responsible for acting like a Demon nest tracking device or something.
“Did you find out how it works or where it came from?” I asked as I tucked it in my pocket.
“I’m afraid I lack any more resources on my end, but I will say I wouldn’t mind taking a look at Archus’ Library myself, so here’s to hoping we can sort out the Council, the pack of greedy vipers.” Mec frowned.
“We’re working on a back-up plan, too, don’t worry,” I said, and my wives and I escorted the Asher Lord down through the courtyard and to the carriage house.
Then, with another round of goodbyes, the royal family trundled off in a carriage drawn by a set of oversized creatures called manapillars. They trilled as they trotted away, and the feathery antennae on their large shaggy heads rippled and swayed until they were out of sight.
“The shield is in the barn for you, Mr. Alex,” one of my hardworking farmhands, Mel, said in his roughened voice as he finished tidying the carriage house by sweeping any remaining straw and dirt away from the entryway.
“Thanks, Mel,” I said with a nod.
“Bodin will be about in a moment, sir,” the short raccoon-man added. “He has something to show you all.”
“Hey, what was in that letter from that old turkey anyway?” Rylan asked as we all headed back toward the kitchen that was fast becoming a sort of meeting place when things needed to be discussed.
We all amassed around the large oak table, and Arvid the giant sloth-man was already there providing us with plates and platters of fresh fruit, crusty rustic bread, and roasted meat freshly sliced.
“It’s a letter from Horus,” Shay said when we were all seated and noshing on some Arvid approved snacks. She unfolded the envelope and smoothed it out on the table. “He has informed us he is safe for the time being, and he especially wanted to assure me he is not back with the Mercenary clans.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” Zoie asked as she poured us all small glasses of wine. “The Mercenary clans didn’t treat him very well.”
“Yeah, it’s good…” Shay trailed off, but her expression looked haunted by something.
“Hey, Uncle Horus’ letter also said he tried to break into Archus Doler’s estate,” Rylan said as he peered over Shay’s shoulder and down at the letter still spread out on the table.
“Crazy bastard,” I muttered as I shook my head and took the letter so I could skim it, too. “I bet he was trying to get something from that library.”
I glanced over it, and sure enough he’d tried to break in for some specific book or something but only managed to walk away with Igoric.
“It says here Igoric only eats bloody liver, and we’d better feed him or he’ll be even more impossible than he already is,” I said and rolled my eyes.
“Well, I, for one, am relieved our Horus is okay,” Zoie said as she nibbled on some cheese.
“Yeah… for now,” Shay murmured and stared down at her still-full plate.
No one seemed to notice how quiet she had become, so I reached under the table and squeezed her thigh reassuringly.
She looked up with her troubled emerald eyes and smiled at me even though I could tell something was worrying her. Before I could ask anything, however, she perked up, folded up Horus’ letter, and cleared her throat.
“We have a few things on the agenda,” the phoenix-woman said. “Namely, the Trader’s Auction for this evening.”
“So, we’re still rescuing Vel-Rala, then?” I asked my two wives.
Vel-Rala, the cruel socialite, widow to the vulture-man, Asher Gordos, had caused us more than enough trouble. The cockatoo-woman was manipulative and status hungry, and she’d managed to bad-mouth Zoie and sic her stupid husband on my foster-son all in one evening, so because of all that, I really wanted nothing to do with her.
But shortly after Gordos idiotically got himself killed when his plan to lure me into a Duel backfired, Vel-Rala found herself without a husband. Because of her nasty reputation, she found herself isolated from anyone willing to help her, or remarry her, or whatever it took to keep her from being sent back to the Traders. So, she came to us for help as her last resort.
The only reason we all were considering taking her in was because the Traders were a fate that was apparently worse than death, if I was reading the implications correctly.
Zoie had been sent back to the Traders numerous times, and she wouldn’t really talk about what went on while she was with them, but the mere thought of even someone so foul as Vel-Rala being sent there caused her to have a change in heart.
Even now, when the subject arose once more, Zoie unconsciously hunched her shoulders, and her ears drooped a little.
“As unpleasant as the woman can be, she might as well be here where she can add some sort of value,” my cat-wife said, but I knew she was really more sympathetic to Vel-Rala’s plight than she let on. “She is quite a skilled saleswoman, I’ve heard.”
“Tis true, Vel-Rala had a lot of success turning a fair profit for her wares,” Shay added as she discreetly leaned into the other woman’s side for comfort, and I was grateful the phoenix-woman had picked up on Zoie’s hidden anxiety as much as I did. “It really is such a waste for a smart and capable person to end up in the Trade.”
“Then it’s settled,” I said. “We’ll go to the Trader’s Auction tonight.”
“Begging your pardon,” the voice of my second trusty farmhand and on-site carpenter, Bodin, sounded as the raccoon-man came into the kitchen. “I thought you all might want to know the greenhouse is built, and the soil is ready for planting our kolee seeds.”
“Really?” Rylan gasped, and he wiggled in his seat a little like he did when he was trying his hardest to contain his boundless enthusiasm. “Can we go see it?”
“I was actually hoping you’d all like to help me plant,” Mel said with a small grin when he entered the kitchen behind his brother a moment later.
“Let’s all go,” I said as a plan began to form in my mind.
We all followed the raccoon-brothers to the upper east field, but I lagged behind with a quiet Shay as the others pulled ahead.
“Are you alright, sweetheart?” I asked her once we were far enough away that it felt like we had a little privacy.
“I’m…” Shay started in her usual cheerful voice, but then she faltered when I reached over and laced her fingers with mine. “Oh, Alex, I’m worried about my brother.”
“But he says he’s not with the Mercenaries anymore,” I said as I helped her traverse a part of the path that was a bit treacherous with tree roots. “Do you think he’s lying?”
“No, I don’t think he is lying about not being back with the Clans,” Shay sighed as she stopped for a moment to get a pebble out of her shoe. When she straightened up, I tugged her toward me and offered her my back.
“Hop on, babe,” I said over my shoulder, and I was rewarded with a bright grin and the feeling of her strong thighs gripping me on either side of my waist as she jumped up for a piggy-back ride.
“How kind of you, good sir, to carry me, thus,” she purred against my ear.
“Anything for you, toots,” I said and tossed her a playful wink just to make her laugh that low bell-like laugh I loved so much.
“I will never get tired of your charming turns of phrase despite the fact I’m not sure what you mean at times,” she said and snuggled her face into the curve of my neck to stifle her giggles.
As we approached the top of the ridge where the upper field was, a dazzling burst of light caught the sun and almost blinded me because it was so brilliant, and I briefly found myself in a predicament. I wanted to shield my eyes, but I was also holding onto the backs of Shay’s knees at the same time. Luckily, I only had to take a few steps in complete blindness before the angle of the light fractured into a thousand flickering rainbow lights like confetti.
My mouth fell open in awe.
“Is that the greenhouse?” I asked.
“Oh, my, Bodin must have ordered Omite sun-glass,” Shay said with a similar tone of wonder. “It’s fairly inexpensive since it’s mostly used as plate and table settings for outdoor garden parties because of the way it catches the light.”
“I see,” I said, and I marveled at all of the twinkling lights dancing around the field as if they were transparent fluffs of falling summer cotton.
“It was clever of him, because the glass uses the sun to retain heat in order to keep the plates warm and the drinks hot, especially in the cold weather,” she elaborated.
“That’s the perfect material for greenhouses,” I agreed and let her back down on the ground so we could both hurry to catch up with the others.
“Bodin, you and your brother are magnificent!” Shay enthused when we were all inside the modest structure with the dazzling edifice. If there weren’t strategically placed windows and skylights that circulated the breeze, the greenhouse would be stifling with the radiant heat.
“I agree, this is truly a feat,” Zoie added as she spun in a small circle to get a panoramic view of the place.
“I’m afraid it was all Bodin’s work,” Mel grunted modestly. “I’m just good with plants.”
“Only in design,” the taller raccoon-brother said, and he sheepishly took off his painter’s cap so he could fiddle with it. “Anyway, this was the easy part. Getting the kolee to grow when it is not their time will be the real challenge, which is where Mel’s expertise comes in.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Rylan piped up as he slung a small satchel of what appeared to be seeds around himself so it rested against his hip.
“Ahem.” Mel was next to the boy with more satchels gripped in his paw-like hands for us to all take, and he cleared his throat and shifted on his feet as if he wasn’t used to having such a big audience. “If you look, you will see I’ve already tilled the ground. So, um, a-all you do is sprinkle the seeds in the rows.”
He pointed to the many freshly tilled tracks of loamy dirt and then shrugged.
“Since there are forty-eight rows, I propose we split up into pairs and tackle two rows at a time,” Bodin said as he adjusted his own satchel around his waist.
We all paired up based on who was standing closest to who, which meant Shay and I were together again and a little bit away from the rest of the group.
The two of us worked at scattering the seeds in companionable silence, but there was a heaviness to it, and I knew I only had to wait long enough for Shay to finish wrestling with whatever was still weighing on her mind.
Sure enough, when we were about halfway through our rows, Shay slowed and turned to me.
“Remember when you asked me if I thought Horus was lying about being back with the Mercenaries?” she asked.
“So, you do think he’s in with that crowd again,” I said and slowed to a stop as well.
“Yes, and no,” she said as she fiddled with the strap across her chest. “I don’t think he is back with the Clans, per se. But I do wonder just what company he is keeping.”
