The Duelist 3, page 19
“They sent the guards after me?” Rylan’s voice cracked, and his face drained of what little color he’d managed to regain.
“Yes, you’re totally going to jail, I bet,” I said and nodded my permission when the oryx-woman offered up another nut-thing.
“Open up, sprout,” she sang, and all at once Rylan turned green at the hated word just as she popped the nut into the mouth he opened with a gag.
“Mpf!” He sucked on the acorn, shuddered a moment later, and actually fell asleep against me standing up.
“There,” she said and toggled his chin again so the nut would fall to the ground.
“Thanks, Amaya,” I said to the oryx-woman, but then I frowned.
Wait.
“I see introductions have already gone around,” Lord Mec said as he dismounted from his obsidian canterfly, Lightning.
“If they have, then I don’t remember,” I said as I scrutinized the oryx-woman I apparently… knew?
I darted a look at Zoie, and her expression confirmed she was probably experiencing the weird familiarity as I was, and it was likely freaking her out just as much.
“Hang on, did she ‘Inception’ us or something, because I definitely don’t remember her introducing herself,” I said with an arched eyebrow. “Or us introducing ourselves for that matter.”
“Ah, that would be my littlest sister’s special talent.” The ram-lord grinned and crossed his arms over his chest like a Proper Big Bro. “Amaya, I thought you were meeting us at the Battle Hall with your sister?”
“But I was needed here,” she said while she looked off into the distance as if something more interesting caught her attention.
Mec winked at me and nodded in Amaya’s direction as if he was saying “watch this.”
“Amaya, how do you Know this?” he asked in his Voice with emphasis on the Know.
Her eyes snapped back to the ram-lord, and they had a faint opalescent sheen to them.
“How do the sun-blooms know when to lift their faces to the sun?” she said with a cryptic air. If her face wasn’t crumpled into one of innocent confusion, I would have thought she was being belittling.
Especially when she patted Mec twice on the forearm and then floated away in the direction that had her so transfixed a moment earlier.
Zoie apparently couldn’t read the oryx-woman’s face as well as I could, because she snorted and then put a hand over her mouth as her ears flattened against her head.
“Okay, what did that mean?” I asked.
“She means she was only acting out of her nature and can’t help herself from doing what she was born to,” Mec answered and shook his head fondly. “But as to your earlier question: Amaya’s gift lies in her ability to understand things through her touch alone. She can also transfer the knowledge she intuitively possesses to others through skin-to-skin contact.”
“That’s incredible,” I said as I watched Amaya size up another tree like she wanted to climb up it.
“Indeed,” Mec intoned. “She will be instrumental in clearing your friend. One touch from her, and she will be able to verify Horus’ intent was only to save your life, not to blaspheme the Rite of the Duel.”
“Oh, good,” I said, and my lips twitched when the slightly eccentric oryx-woman disappeared up one of the multi-colored jem trees.
“Come, we must not linger too long in the Forest of Uul. The stag-beetles are out of their rut, but they can be quite territorial.” Mec gestured toward the line of guardsmen who accompanied the Asher Lord on his recon mission.
Two of the men clad in metal armor galloped over and led a pair of riderless canterflies by the reins.
“For you, the lad, and the lady, Asher Brightwood,” he said and handed me the reins of a pretty mahogany canterfly as the other guy handed the reins of a peach-colored filly over to my cat-wife.
“What about your sister?” I asked the ram-lord as I handed Rylan over to Zoie so I could mount the steed.
“She will most likely find her way back to the caravan before us, though I have yet to figure out how she does things like that,” Mec said with a scowl, and I chuckled as Zoie helped a groggy Rylan up into the saddle so he could sit in front of me.
“Don’t fall asleep, Ry,” I said and jostled him slightly with the arm I secured across his chest. “You can rest all you want when we get back to the carriage, okay?”
“Kay,” he mumbled and reached up to hold onto my wrist.
“Move out!” Mec ordered, and we all followed him and Lightning back to where the carriages were parked.
“Alex!” Shay rushed up with open arms to receive Rylan and help him stand so I could dismount. “Oh, you poor thing, you really aren’t feeling well, are you?”
“No,” he said pitifully.
“Well, I just might have something to make you feel a little better,” she said and hugged him.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I think you mean, ‘who’ is it,” a familiar and very much missed voice said right before its owner waltzed out from where a serene-looking Arvid was sitting on his cart.
“Uncle Horus!” Rylan gasped with a weary grin. “You’re back.”
“A little twitterbug told me you were feeling bad,” he said as he ruffled the boy’s hair. “I bet if you ask Miss Shale-Lea real nice-like, she’ll sing you the lullaby she used to sing to me when I was sick.”
“Oh…” Rylan said with an expression like he was fighting with wanting something so juvenile, but in the end, he gave in and nodded bashfully.
“Come, darling,” Shay said and led him to the carriage. She paused to send a glance over her shoulder that told me she had everything well in hand, and I smiled back at her gratefully.
I then turned my attention to the roguish falcon-man and extended my right hand to give him a solid shake.
“How’s it going, Horus?” I asked him as we clasped forearms, and the crawling discomfort I usually experienced due to the reminder of Doler’s curse was tamped down at the sheer relief I felt at seeing my best friend unharmed.
“Never better, Chief, never better-- although I think you’ve all spoiled me on the ‘high-life’ because sleeping outdoors is definitely worse than I remember,” he said and clapped me on the shoulder with his free hand. Then he released me and bowed low to my cat-wife. “Zoie, dearest, how are you?”
“I am well, Horus,” she answered. “But I believe I owe you a sparring session for your egregious absence.”
Then she sauntered past the stunned falcon-man, and her tail flicked him on the nose before she entered the carriage.
“Did she just--?” Horus started.
“Yeah, she basically threatened to kick your ass, dude.” I shook my head and crossed my arms. “It’s okay, though. It means she cares.”
“Should I be worried?” he asked.
“Very,” I volleyed.
“Oh, dear,” he George Takei’ed with a hand against his cheek.
“Come on, we’ll drive to give Mel and Bodin a break,” I laughed. “Glad to have you back, H.”
“Everything alright, Mr. Alex?” Jenner asked through the window.
“All good, Mr. Jenner, just a changing of the guard,” I said and then climbed up the side of the carriage so I could sit in the driver’s seat. “Hey, guys, take a break and eat something. We’ll be there soon.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Alex,” Mel graveled out as he finished tending to one of Prosper’s iron shoes. “I think I’ll keep Arvid a bit of company.”
Then the shorter raccoon-brother winked at the taller and scurried off to the cart hitched on the back.
“Yes, well…” Bodin said as he fiddled with his cap. “I suppose I will take some refreshment. Ahem.”
If Bodin could actually blush under his fur and mask, I was sure his face would be on fire. Instead, his embarrassment was telegraphed in the way he was intent on wringing the life out of his painter’s cap, and he gave one last smile at us both before he scurried off to the cab.
“That was weird,” Horus commented. “What have I missed?”
“I think Bodin caught some Feelings for our newest addition, Vel-Rala,” I said and then flicked Prosper’s reins as the caravan finally started moving again.
“So, you did go to the Auctions,” he said and shook his black-feathered head. “I heard that night the Scourge was insatiable. I had hoped you all decided to stay behind Ithaca’s walls that night, but I am grateful nothing became of it.”
“It was close,” I admitted. “Zoie and Shay kept everything under control, though, while I joined the Hunt in search of you.”
“Aw, you shouldn’t have,” he cooed as he placed his hand over his heart and batted his eyes.
“Eh, you’re moderately useful to me,” I conceded with a shrug.
“Moderately?” he screeched. “I’m a gem!”
“Ehhhh,” I said again and teetered one hand back and forth.
“Seriously, Chief,” he said after he smacked my hand away. “You really shouldn’t have put yourself at such risk on my behalf. I told you all I was perfectly fine.”
“You sister had other theories,” I said, but I held up my palm before he could interrogate me. “You will have to ask her about all that, but basically, if there was a chance I could have eased her mind by finding your ass, you bet I jumped at the opportunity. And like I said: you’re moderately useful to me. But you really need to talk with Shay.”
“I must speak with her, it’s true,” he said and rubbed his forehead with his fingers.
“And you still can’t tell anybody where you’ve been?” I asked.
“It would be the utmost betrayal to those who harbored me, unfortunately,” he sighed.
“Then you definitely have your work cut out for you,” I chuckled and patted his arm in sympathy.
“Gee, thanks,” he deadpanned, and then he knocked his shoulder into mine as he took the reins from me. “So, Vel-Rala, huh? Are you taking her as a concubine? A wife?”
“Definitely not,” I snorted. “Our agreement was I would save her from the Traders as long as she contributed to the estate as a worker.”
“Oh, how the top tumble to the bottom,” he tsked through his teeth. “You know, most Duelists would have added her as a concubine just for the status boost.”
“If you think I’m concerned about status, then you obviously don’t know me,” I joked.
“No, I know you perfectly well, Alex Brightwood.” Horus’ tone suddenly took a sharp turn into serious waters, and I gave him a puzzled frown. “You are a man of character, loyalty, and righteousness, and I am glad to have called you a friend and brother.”
“You’re talking like you’re going somewhere,” I said as my frown turned into a scowl.
“Alex, if the Council should find me guilty, they will put me to death. And I wanted to take a moment to ask you to take care to keep your own fool-self alive because you’re all my Shaylee has left.” His hands twisted the leather straps of the reins until they creaked.
“Horus, they’re not going to find you guilty.” I cleared my throat and took the reins back.
“But who knows what these ‘auditors’ will be able to do,” he argued. “I don’t trust anyone appointed by the Council.”
“Even Lord Mec?” I asked.
“Mec is a part of the Council?” The falcon-man arched a dark eyebrow.
“The ‘Lesser’ one, I guess,” I said as I tried to remember the Aventollian Civics lesson from a while back. “Something about blood status. Usually, Lesser Council members don’t really have much sway, but Mec was able to pull some strings.”
“Why is he pulling at strings?” Horus asked as he was derailed from the point.
“It means he was able to… geez, how could I put this in a way you would understand?” I muttered this last part mostly to myself but just loud enough to ruffle the feathers of his English Boarding School Ways, and then I cleared my throat. “The Asher Lord was able to curry favor with the upper echelons of the Council decision makers.”
“That is not how I sound,” the falcon-man squawked as his black crest fluffed up in indignation.
“Bro, you definitely use too many words,” I snickered and shook my head.
“Yes, alright,” he said and snatched the reins back. “You were saying about the Asher Lord’s strings?”
“We’ll work on it,” I laughed at Horus as he mangled the idiom. “Yes, strings-- two of them in fact.”
“What do you mean?” he asked with a puzzled smile.
“I think you mean, ‘who.’” I smirked. “Mec has two little sisters who are something called ‘augur-mages’ that will be able to clear your name, no problem.”
“What…” he trailed off.
“Honestly, H, you have nothing to worry about,” I said as I searched under the bench seat for one of Mel’s hand-crafted wineskins I began seeing all over the manor as of late. Hopefully, there was more than water in the one I managed to find. “Trust me, I met one of the sisters, and she’s definitely legit-- yes! Do you want some… Horus?”
The falcon-man’s face was pale with shock, and his mouth gawked open.
“You… wait. The-- the people who will be deciding my case are the half-sisters of Lord Mec?” he asked as all his good humor drained out of him.
“Yes,” I answered and looked down at the skein in my hands.
“And you… met… one of them?” he clarified.
“Y-e-s,” I drew out the word and toyed with the idea of offering Horus the wine again because I had a feeling he was about to hit the roof about something. “Her name was Amaya.”
“Oh, Goddess,” the falcon-man groaned and doubled over, and poor Prosper jerked sharply to the left.
“Woah,” I said as I grabbed the leather reins back once and for all and steered us on the correct course once more. With one hand, I shoved the falcon-man upright and then put the wineskin into his hands. “Make yourself useful and take a drink for Mercedes’ sake.”
Prosper snorted and tossed his black-maned head as if agreeing with me.
“I just--” Horus popped the cork on the skein and then took a liberal swallow. “Oh, darkest of Darkhells.”
“What is it?” I asked. “Do you know the Mec sisters?”
“You could say that…” he said and took another fortifying sip. “Has Shay ever explained about the debut of her sixteenth season?”
“She said something about how you brought a fortune teller to her party who kind of killed the mood with her really depressing prophecies,” I said as I remembered that heartbreaking conversation between Shay and me.
“I brought two, actually,” he said. “And the one who ‘killed the mood,’ as you say, was Amaya.”
“Who-- wait, Mec’s little sister was…?” I whipped my head in his direction. “I need you to explain because Shay obviously doesn’t know Mec’s sister is the same one who ruined her birthday, or she would have mentioned that little fact when Mec brought it up before the Tithing Ceremony.”
“She doesn’t know of the connection, that’s true,” Horus said with a distressed look on his face. “But in order to explain about Amaya, I must first tell you about her sister, Anwaar. She and Amaya were inducted into the Alemic Temple Order when they were girls, and the amount of pressure on them was enormous due to their talents.”
“And the Order is some religious thing, right?” I asked.
“Yes, under the Goddess’ Edict, there is a Temple Order on each isle,” Horus explained. “There are three branches in the order. Clerics, like Golan, the keeper of Nata’s Sun Temple, are usually the academics and the Keepers of the Edicts and Sacred Architecture. Then there are acolytes who follow the High Priestess. Mec’s wife, Dawn, is a Deaconess and is an ambassador in place of the High Priestess who resides on Alem.”
“And finally augur-mages are branch number three,” I concluded.
“Exactly,” Horus said and jiggled his leg up and down. “Augur-mages are special because they are touched by the Goddess. They strike the balance between the Law and the Light and always come in pairs: the ‘mage’ side and the ‘augur’ side. The way Anwaar talked about her role as an augur-mage, she painted a picture that was void of any freedom. She talked about the Oath in particular with the most disdain.”
He stopped here to take another morose sip of wine, but I decided he’d had enough and took the skein away from him.
“What is the Oath?” I asked.
“After young augur-mages pass the acolyte phase, they study over the span of eight seasons until they are either ‘spiritually moved’ or forced to take the Oath.” Horus heaved a sigh as if his heart was leaden with cinder blocks sinking into the ocean. “Once an augur-mage takes the Oath, they’re hearts belong to the Goddess, and they can never be with anyone, even if they l-love another.”
“Horus,” I said with a pang as I realized where this was going. “Were you in love with Anwaar?”
“No, Alex,” he said and stared out into the distance like a love-sick zombie. “I’m still in love with Anwaar.”
“But, that’s great because you’ll be able to see her at least, and maybe you can work out whatever it was that broke you two apart,” I said as I tried to take a page out of Redburn’s book of Endless Optimism. “Which you still have yet to tell me, by the way. So far, all I can tell is the events that went on at Shay’s Sweet Sixteen led to a lot of shit with you guys and your father.”
“Ani and I met at the Academy where acolytes and young alchemists go to study,” he reminisced. “We fell in love and both decided to elope to Leen and disappear together, but she didn’t want to abandon her sister, and I also wanted to see Shay one last time. So, I talked Anwaar into bringing Amaya with us in disguise as fortune tellers in attendance for Shay’s party.
“On top of Amaya upsetting the assembled guests-- not to mention my sister-- when my father found out I had planned on eloping with Ani… well you can imagine how well he took it. The fallout also led to the hastening of Shay’s wing-shearing, which might have contributed to the botched quality of it. Archus feared Shay’s prospective suitors would quickly lose interest in his fledgling daughter after such a public display of what sounded like incredibly bad fortune, so he jumped at the first Asher to offer marriage.”
