The Duelist 9, page 14
“Thanks to your Lakuna friend,” Elmer replied via Morta. “The sun no longer weeps, and it seems my people are now more willing to believe the Red Sky no longer means the scourge is coming from the sea, and that you, Alex Brightwood, are truly an ally to the People of Om.”
“I am your servant, Elder,” I said graciously and bowed again. “As an Asher, and as an Ambassador.”
Elmer smiled at me and made a few more quick gestures with his claws.
“I look forward to seeing you for the festivities this evening,” Morta translated. “But for now, I must leave you to speak with my people.”
“Of course,” I said, and Elmer shuffled off with Morta in tow.
“Was that your singing, Nova?” Anwaar asked kindly when Elmer was gone. “It was beautiful.”
“It was,” Horus agreed. “I’d only heard stories of the Lakunas’ singing voices, but that was… that was unlike anything I’d ever heard.”
“I’d love to hear you and Shay do a duet,” Zoie sighed wistfully. “It would be something truly magical.”
Nova’s eyes lit up at that, and she nodded enthusiastically.
“Hey, maybe you two could do a song or something tonight,” I suggested. “Horus, why don’t you take Nova back so she can get cleaned up and mention it to Shay-- if she has a spare minute in between prepping Amaya.”
At the mention of Amaya’s name, Nova stiffened, and none of us missed it.
“Oh, darling.” Zoie smiled softly. “You don’t have anything to worry about with Amaya. She’s the kindest soul there is.”
“I… know…” Nova said slowly, and she looked equal parts guilty and nervous. “Just… sun was weeping… didn’t help… got confused. Poor Maya. Not a witch.”
“She isn’t,” Zoie confirmed. “And I know she won’t hold it against you once she sees how apologetic you are. Why don’t you go back with Horus and Anwaar and speak to her, alright?”
Nova looked first at Zoie, then at me. Then something in her jaw set determinedly, and she nodded.
“Alright,” she said, and she leaned forward to kiss Zoie on the cheek, then me on the lips. She lingered a few seconds, but she grinned before she allowed Horus and Anwaar to lead her away.
The moment they vanished, obscured by the remaining Omish still on the lakeshore, Councilman Sha-Kane appeared, almost as if from nowhere.
“Alex,” he said urgently. “Are you alright? Is Horus alright?”
“We’re both fine, Councilman,” I promised. “Everyone’s fine. There were no demons.”
“No demons?” the osprey-man echoed, and his eyes went wide. “How? The sky was red!”
“It was,” Zoie said. “But that no longer has to mean demons.”
Sha-Kane eyed her and pulled a letter from out of his pocket.
“I suppose this might have something to do with a letter I just received from Lord Gavlain Mec, on Nata?” he asked us. “He mentioned how there was a Red Sky event not too long ago, but there was also a fantastical beam of bright light. After that, the sky returned to normal, and there have been no sightings of demons since.”
“It might have something to do with that, yeah,” I told him. I wasn’t entirely sure how much I wanted to tell him about Shay’s Incarnate abilities. It was one thing to be told your daughter had fabled powers, but it was another to specify just what those powers were, and that they included the ability to heal the Hearts of Aventoll themselves.
Zoie, however, didn’t know anything about Sha-Kane’s connection to Shay and Horus.
“Lord Mec has nothing to worry about,” she said. “Shay has always been careful with these sorts of things. She wants only to help people.”
Sha-Kane stared at Zoie, then at me.
“What in the Darkhells does Shale-Lea have to do with this?” he demanded. “Is she in danger? What kind of power could she possibly be connected to that she can affect the Red Skies and the scourge?”
Zoie blinked, but of course she had no context for any of this. Still, I saw her ears flatten against her head in wariness, and she looked at me for a signal on how to react.
I stood my ground.
“Shay is perfectly safe, Councilman,” I said. “She knows better than any of us how this works. It’s her power, after all.”
“I don’t give a damn about that.” Sha-Kane frowned. “I’m her father, Mercedes damn it! I want to know she’s not risking burning up her very soul!”
“Her… father?”
Sha-Kane flinched like Zoie had struck him rather than simply said two words.
“Ms. Zoie,” he began. “Y-You have to understand, I… Well… Shale-Lea and Horus, they…”
“Horus, too?” she asked as her ears stood straight up on her head. “You’re their father? Not that awful Archus Doler man?”
“No,” Sha-Kane sighed. “Or… yes. I am. Archus isn’t. Wasn’t.”
He dragged an exasperated hand down his face, and I could see why. He’d gone to such great pains to keep this secret, and now it was crashing down around his ears because of one slip up in a moment of paternal concern.
Zoie’s face hardened as she looked at the Councilman, and I was once again reminded of just how deadly my cat-wife could be.
“They don’t know, do they?” she said. It was phrased like a question, but her tone of voice made it clear that she wasn’t asking. “Shay and Horus have no idea you’re their real father.”
“No,” Sha-Kane agreed. “And at least for the time being, they will continue to have no idea.”
“Will they?” Zoie asked, and her words were cold and hard as stone. “Because I think that’s something they’re entitled to know. And unless you plan to try and beat me in a fight, there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
Chapter 11
Zoie and Sha-Kane stood opposite one another, with their shoulders squared and their jaws set in a standoff.
“How long have you known?” Zoie demanded of the osprey-man, and his feathers literally ruffled with irritation and maybe a hint of shame.
“Since Horus was born,” he answered. “Their mother, Alana, she and I…”
“Why haven’t you told them?” Zoie snapped, and her cat ears pressed back flat against her head. I was again taken aback by her ferocity, but of course she had never been the type to lie down and accept an injustice, especially against those she considered her family. “Doler was cruel to them. Why did you condemn them to his parenting?”
“I thought it was for the best, at the time,” Sha-Kane explained, and there was no missing the edge of indignation to how he spoke. Part of him was angered at how Zoie was speaking to him, even though he knew she had every right to be suspicious and hurt on behalf of Shay and Horus.
“And now?” Zoie asked. “Archus Doler is dead. He has been for some time. What possible reason could you have to continue hiding this from them? Do you not wish for them to know their true father?”
“There is nothing I wish more fervently,” the Councilman answered in a cold tone. “They are my blood, my children, and I could not be prouder of their accomplishments. But I have my reasons. I do not wish to besmirch their honor with my past mistakes. There are things I must yet contend with, so I will thank you to let family affairs stay within the family.”
“Shay and Horus are my family,” Zoie said, and her blue eyes glittered with determination. “Shay is my wife just as she is Alex’s. Horus is my brother by law. I would protect them with my life.”
“And for that, you have my thanks,” Sha-Kane said. “Truly. But you must understand, I have no wish to hurt them. I simply want to be a worthy man when I tell them the truth. I don’t want Horus to have to inherit the burden of my past mistakes.”
Zoie leaned back slightly as she realized just what the osprey-man meant, and her eyes went wide.
“You owe a blood debt,” she said softly, and I saw her posture change from defensive to stunned. “Don’t you?”
Sha-Kane bowed his head in what was both a nod and an admission of shame. “I do. And I will do whatever it takes to see Horus and Shale-Lea never have to pay for more of the mistakes I made in my youth. So, please, I beg you, don’t tell them just yet. I swear I will, just as I swore to Alex.”
“You knew?” Zoie turned to face me, and her expression was shocked.
“Only since we went to check out the pirate loot,” I said quickly. “And he said the same to me, that he had affairs to sort out, that he wanted to make sure he was worthy before dumping a major reveal on them like that. You have to know I love Shay as much as you do, Zoie. I don’t want to freak her out any more than absolutely necessary.”
One of my cat-wife’s ears pressed flat against her head as the other remained straight up, which made her look a little quizzical as she mulled this over.
At last, she seemed to come to a decision.
“Alright. I won’t tell Shay and Horus… I won’t tell them. That is your secret to reveal, theirs to learn.”
The osprey-man visibly relaxed. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, I’m not doing it for you,” Zoie said firmly. “They are my family. They are who I’m doing this for.”
I’d pretty much said the same on the pirate ship, so I was relieved to see Zoie take the same stance, because it meant my instinct had been right. If Zoie, an Aventoll native, took the same stance as me, then it was almost certainly the correct thing to do.
I reached out and put an arm around Zoie’s shoulders to pull her into a hug, and I pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head, between her ears.
“We’ll be there for them when they find out,” I told her. “That will be enough. No matter what, they won’t doubt for a second they have a family who loves them.”
Sha-Kane watched Zoie and I for a few seconds, and his expression was almost wistful.
“I am grateful to you both,” he said. “And to the Mec Sisters, and everyone else in your, ah, ‘Crew,’ that my children have found themselves such a family. Archus and I both failed them, albeit for different reasons and in different ways. But it’s a relief to see my son and daughter are still loved.”
“Just try to sort out whatever it is quickly,” I said to the Councilman. “The longer we have to keep this in the dark, the longer you wait after Archus’ death, the more painful it’s going to be for them.”
Sha-Kane bowed his head again. “Believe me, I know.”
He dragged a hand down his face slowly, and it was almost like I was watching him wipe away the conversation itself, because when his hand fell back to his side again, he was smiling.
“Now,” he said. “On a more cheerful note, I thought it might interest you to know I have some information on the Lakuna Children.”
Zoie and I both visibly perked up.
“You do?” I asked, and Sha-Kane nodded.
“I have traveled far and met many interesting people with many interesting books,” the osprey-man explained. “And I know you have a… friendship with what is widely believed to be the last living Lakuna Child in Aventoll. If you like, I could speak with Mr. Jenner and help him expand on his archive records of the Lakuna.”
I stared at the Councilman for a long moment.
“That’s… really decent of you, Councilman,” I finally managed. My arm was still tight around Zoie, and her fingers dug into my arm with a sort of frantic anticipation. Both of us-- in fact, the entire Crew-- were eager to learn more about where Nova had come from, what had happened to her people, and the strange language only she was able to read.
I pushed those particular thoughts aside, though. At least for now, I didn’t want to think about the mysterious book that might have been Nova’s mother’s diary, the fact her mother may have been the last Prophetess, and the lengths Krev Alda had gone to in order to try and locate the next Prophetess.
“I’d really appreciate it,” I continued to Sha-Kane, and I gave a small bow. “As would Nova, I’m sure. She seems… pretty in the dark about her own culture.”
Not that it was surprising, given her bastard of a father.
“Well, then, I would be happy to discuss this with Mr. Jenner.” Sha-Kane smiled at me, and I swore I could see a hint of relief in his eyes. “Though perhaps it would be more suitable to wait until after tonight’s festivities.”
“Agreed,” I said with a grin, and Zoie nodded firmly. “Tonight’s about having fun and relaxing a little.”
The three of us then began to head back up to the Manta ship, but we had only just walked into the main hallway when Jenner came careening around a corner with such speed he nearly bowled Sha-Kane over.
“Oh! Councilman! My apologies, I didn’t see you there, I--”
Jenner very abruptly stopped talking when he noticed Zoie and me standing next to the osprey-man, and his jaw literally dropped open.
“What in Mercedes are you doing?” he cried out and flailed his arms toward us. “We’re supposed to be having a grand banquet this evening! Why do you look like you just had a brawl on the lakeshore?”
“Uh, because we kind of did,” I told him blankly. “Well, not us specifically, but there was a brawl. Wait, hang on. Did you not see the Red Sky?”
“I’ve been in the library,” Jenner deadpanned. “Researching relevant Omish etiquette and-- other things.”
I decided not to ask what these vaguely ominous ‘other things’ were right now, since I had other stuff to focus on.
“Councilman Sha-Kane reckons he can provide some information about Nova,” I told the koala-man. “He’s come across a lot of old knowledge about the Lakuna Children that he thinks could be of use in translating that book, among other things.”
“You do?” Jenner almost literally lit up at that, and his eyes went wide behind his spectacles. “How exciting! You and I must have a proper chat tomorrow, Councilman, I’d love to pick your brain over a pot of tea. The Lakuna are--”
“Are one of the most elusive cultures in all of Aventoll,” Sha-Kane agreed sagely. “I would be only too happy to oblige, Mr. Jenner. But as you said, tomorrow.”
“Indeed.” Jenner nodded. “We have big plans for tonight. Speaking of which-- Alex! You need to get ready! You can’t attend this evening looking like that!”
In my defense, with everything that had happened today, dressing up for festivities had kind of slipped my mind. With all the panic of Nova being scared of Amaya, the Red Sky, and then the Tatabo nearly drowning themselves, I hadn’t been overly focused on making sure I stayed looking nice.
But it was no matter. I’d bathed earlier, I could bathe again.
Jenner directed me upstairs, and I had another bath, which was considerably quicker and less exciting than the last one, if a lot more effective at actually getting me clean. When I emerged into my room, partially-dressed, my thoughts about what I was supposed to wear this evening were halted by the sight of Horus standing there.
It was less the fact that Horus was in the room than the fact he was wearing some very strange clothes I’d never seen before. It didn’t look at all like the armor I’d been expecting us all to wear this evening. It looked more like something out of a socialite gala.
“I thought diplomacy was all about subtle displays of strength,” I said to the falcon-man when I walked in. “Showing we’re stronger together, or whatever.”
“Oh, this?” Horus asked and looked down at himself. “Well, we thought we’d make it a little more special for tonight. Add a bit of extra flair.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “But why?”
Horus moved toward me and brandished some kind of undershirt that looked so white and poofy I half-suspected it had been taken right out of a Jane Austen novel. But the material was soft against my skin, and when I laced it up, it fitted me well.
“Well, you want to look nice for your new wife, don’t you?” the falcon-man asked with a teasing smile.
The realization hit me a second later, and I turned to stare at Horus, wide-eyed.
“Wait,” I said. “This is wedding clothing, isn’t it? Aventoll wedding clothing?”
“Specifically, these outfits are Natavian,” Horus told me. “And a bit of Alem, since that’s where Ani and Amaya-- and most of the Mec family aside from Gavlain-- live.”
“A wedding?” I asked. “Like… a real wedding?”
That was a lot to dump on a guy all at once. I mean, I obviously loved Amaya, and I’d already asked her to be my wife, but having a proper ceremony… that was a Big Fucking Deal.
“At least this explains why Shay was so adamant about pampering Amaya earlier,” I muttered, more to myself than to Horus. “So, it’s happening today?”
“Just before the banquet,” the falcon-man confirmed. “A little ceremony to celebrate and officially welcome Amaya and Ani into our Crew. Family. You know what I mean.”
“And Ani?” I repeated and gave him a sly look. “So you two will be tying the knot, too?”
“Knot?” Horus asked blankly.
“Never mind,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Turn of phrase. Are you marrying Ani tonight, too?”
“Well, technically this isn’t a fully official marriage, since she’s still part of the Order,” the falcon-man reminded me. “But… Ani and I are already married.”
I stared at him. “You what? Since when? How come you never told me!”
Horus let out a laugh that was part amused and part sheepish. “In my defense, Chief, we’ve both been really damn busy! I barely had the chance to marry her, let alone to tell anyone about it! Plus, with all the stuff with the Order, and me being an exile… it was safer for everyone if no one knew for the time being.”
“But you’re not an exile anymore,” I pointed out. “You’re a respected Duelist and an Asher. You’re the brother to the Incarnate and--”
I cut myself off at the last second. I’d been going to say ‘and the son of a distinguished Councilmember’ but had caught myself at the last moment. I tried not to be too obvious as I corrected myself.
“--and my best friend.”
“Aw, you flatter me,” Horus teased and batted his eyes at me.
I huffed and shoved him away, even as I smiled.
