The Duelist 3, page 3
“Yes, it seems he knows just how to stop you in your tracks, doesn’t it?” Shay giggled as she looped her other arm through mine.
“He called me ‘Dad’ again,” I said in a daze as my two beautiful wives ushered me into the corridor.
“Let’s go see what our company wants, hmm?” Zoie suggested and nudged my chin upward until my mouth was closed again.
“Yeah,” I said with a grin and led the way down to the ground floor where Rylan was waiting for us outside of the parlor along with Nevra.
“Oh, fabulous!” the badger-woman gushed as she sized us up from head to toe. “You all look splendid, if I do say so myself. Go on inside. Mec, his wife Dawn, and wee little Meera are all taking refreshment.”
“Thanks, Nevra,” I said and pushed open the door to the comfortable parlor where Nata Isle’s royal family were all sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace that had been stoked to keep the chill of the rainy morning at bay.
“Alex!” Mec’s little doe-daughter with the tawny face, fuzzy baby antlers, and white Bambi freckles slid off the lap of her deer-mother, Dawn, and barreled toward me.
“Hey, Meers!” I said as I swung her up into my arms. “Are you staying out of trouble?”
“Yes,” she giggled as she traced her little fingers over the buckles across my chest.
“That’s a lie,” Mec rumbled, and then he plucked his small child out of my arms so he could hold her high above his horned head with one hand until she laughed and squealed. “I should offer you up to the sun. Maybe the Goddess will want you and all your trouble.”
“Daddy, no!” Meera squirmed around in her father’s one-handed grip until she became too squirrely for Mec to hold onto. So, he tossed her up, caught her by the back of her little dress, and then lowered her until she was just a few inches off the ground like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.
“Then maybe the demons below the ground will want you,” he thundered and lowered Meera even more.
“No-o-o!” she laughed. “Save me!”
“Now, Husband,” Dawn said as she rose regally from her seated position. Her platinum hair shimmered under the light of the glow stones, and it shifted around her bare shoulders like a flowing waterfall. She laughed as she rescued her giggling daughter from the ram-lord and perched her on her hip.
“Momma,” Meera said and cuddled up in her mother’s arms.
“Your daughter is such a cute little thing!” Shay cooed as she wiggled her fingers in the little deer-girl’s direction.
Meera blushed and buried her face into Dawn’s neck.
“It is a blessing and a curse,” Mec said as he ruffled the little girl’s hair.
“What brings you and your family here, Gavlain?” I asked as I sat in one of the armchairs while Shay and Zoie perched on either arm, and Rylan sat on the floor by my feet along with Meera.
“Before we get straight to business, I’ve come first and foremost to see how you are faring,” the ram-lord said with a sincere look. “Tell me: are you well, Alex? Truly?”
“Yeah, I’m well, no need to worry,” I said. “I have an excellent doctor.”
“I heard that old Midgen finally came out of her hermitage, but I never would have guessed it was due to you,” the ram-lord commented.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“Her kind tends to be the most isolated and suspicious of the foreign,” he said. “So much so, no one quite knows which isle they hail from.”
“She’s definitely a little out there,” I agreed.
“I think you have my brother to thank for that,” Shay said with a fond smile. “They haven’t said, but I’m pretty sure the Madam patched him up a time or two when he was doing the bidding of the Mercenary Clans.”
“They did seem quite familiar when he was here recovering from his injury,” I said.
“Speaking of Horus,” the ram-lord sighed, “I have been looking into the matter of the case the Council has built against him. The entire Battle Hall saw him fire a second arrow into Archus Doler’s face, so there is not much I can do on my end even though I am the Asher Lord. The Council takes the Duelist rules very seriously, and interference automatically carries the punishment of death.”
“That’s not an option,” I said and clutched Shay’s hand when she inhaled sharply at Mec’s words. “What else have you got for me, Gavlain?”
“I knew I liked you, Alex, my friend,” the ram-lord chuckled and shook his brown shaggy head. “You have a tenacity few are born with, and those who do usually take a lifetime to master it.”
“Thank you. I think.” I rubbed the back of my neck as a puzzled grin lifted the corners of my mouth.
“Yes, well, I knew you wouldn’t take that for an answer, so I looked up the laws, and as long as we can prove your bolt was the one that killed him, it doesn’t matter if Horus interfered,” Mec said.
“Let’s make that plan Number One,” I said aloud and mentally moved Jenner’s idea about forfeiting Doler’s estate to the Council to the back burner.
Because fu-u-ck those guys.
Why should we have to kowtow to a board of Vaguely Menacing Government Entities? It didn’t even matter that I didn’t want Doler’s estate.
It was the principle.
“While you were recovering, I sent word to Alem’s Capital for a pair of mages who will be able to prove Horus’ innocence,” Mec said, and he pulled a folded packet of official-looking papers out of his crimson and gold robes. “Those basically state in a very boring way how my request to have a mage review your claim was approved, and the Council is stalled indefinitely until the mage makes their report.”
“You said ‘mages’ earlier,” I pointed out.
“Ah,” the horned-man chuckled again. “Well, it just so happens I have two sisters who are in the Alemic Order, and they both work as a single unit, so it is them I have called upon.”
“How?” Zoie asked as her ears perked forward, and her beautiful blue eyes sparkled with that curiosity I loved.
“They can prove Horus only killed Doler magically and not physically, especially since it’s been confirmed Archus’ hand was made from enchanted Omite marble,” he explained. “The Duelist laws don’t specify if the death is magical or physical. So, even if Horus’ arrow did break the core where his magical spirit resided, it was your bolt that pierced him first and probably your bolt that killed him.”
“Oh, wow, Gavlain, you didn’t have to go through all the trouble,” I said as I realized just how far his good opinion of me went.
“It was no trouble,” he said and waved away my concern with one large hand. “I have been wanting to see my little sisters for quite some time, and it will be good to have them in for the Tithing Ceremony.”
“Which brings us to the other reason why we are here,” Dawn said as she got elegantly to her feet. Then she went over to one of the windows and pulled open the drapes, and a shaft of golden afternoon sunlight poured in. “It has stopped raining, and mid-epoch is almost upon us.”
“Indeed, Wife,” the ram-lord said. “The Tithing Ceremony is in five days, and there is much you must prepare for.”
“I almost forgot about the Ceremony,” I admitted. “What do I have to do?”
“The body must be prepared in order to withstand the trials required of it,” the deer-woman said as she tipped her head. A chiming sounded as the crystals strung between her antlers moved with her head motion, and her luminous eyes flashed like the silver moon as she pulled a crystal crescent pendant out from the keyhole in her haltered dress.
“Could I die?” I arched my eyebrows.
“From blood loss and exhaustion, yes,” Dawn says and nodded her ornamented head. “That is, of course, if you don’t boil to death in the waters of the Pool first.”
“Say what, now?” I deadpanned.
“Dawnnie, don’t scare the lad,” Mec rumbled out another laugh. “The getting him to ‘not boil to death’ is the easy part!”
“Yeeeahhh, you might think this is encouraging, but literally no sentence with the words boil-to-death included is comforting,” I said.
“Forgive me, not all are used to Alemic humor,” Dawn said with a dip of her regal head. “My husband is correct. The easiest part of the whole event is the Blessing, which is best performed five days before an Asher’s first Tithing Ceremony so the skin has a chance to recover.”
“Seriously, what is going to happen to me?” I asked.
“Darling, you are doing it again,” Mec said.
“Forgive me, Alex, you are too fun to tease.” The deer-woman smiled and came over so she could fondly pat me on the cheek. “No more jokes, I promise. Let me explain: the Sacred Pools are acidic and can only be tolerated if an Asher has been blessed by an Alemic Acolyte. That is the reason for my presence and the request for your whole family to be present. The Blessing Day is usually one of celebration, and the protections become stronger the more people there are to surround you. There is a natural spring located nearby I can Bless that will work for our purposes, but we must head there now before the sun passes its midpoint.”
“Why don’t we just use the pools we have in the garden?” Rylan piped up in his Super Helpful Voice, and all at once, the room became dead silent as all of the adults present realized what he’d just said.
Tithe pools used to be on every Ashers property in the sun chapel usually located somewhere on a large estate, but according to some stupid reason by the Vaguely Menacing Government Entities, all of the pools were removed so the Council could tighten their control over the people of Aventoll.
Apparently, each individual Duelist used to provide and distribute the crucial gray pebbles that made the briny and bitter water of the land potable enough to drink, but then the Council stepped in, and it became illegal to own them.
Like, super illegal.
Illegal enough that ugly-ass vulture-fuck, Gordos, was actively blackmailing the dude who owned this place before I killed him.
“Are you saying there are original tithe pools located on this estate?” Dawn’s clear voice cut through the thick silence like a shard of glass through a silk sheet.
“Yeah, just in the stone garden by the pretty murals with Mercedes and the stone fish,” Rylan continued obliviously as he focused on rolling a sparkly blue ball back and forth with Meera. He was too preoccupied with entertaining the little girl and doing an excellent job of keeping her out of trouble, so I wasn’t even mad he had let the cat out of the bag like that.
“Um, hey, Gavlain… so, there is something I’ve been meaning to tell you, and I really hope you’re cool with it,” I said with a shrug.
“Hah!” The ram-lord threw his shaggy head back and barked out a laugh.
“Was… was I not supposed to say that?” Rylan asked as he looked around the room at the laughing lord and all of our stunned faces.
“Well…” Zoie started.
“You see, darling…” Shay said with a wince.
“No, no, lad,” Mec said once he caught his breath. “Never be ashamed of your honesty. As for the rest of you, relax. I’ve known about the tithe pools on this estate. Who do you think helped Old Kel move them from the chapel in the first place?”
“Really?” I asked in surprise. “Why did you move them again?”
“Kel’s late wife, the Lady Gerra, loved them so much, he had them set up in her own private garden for her to admire any time she liked,” he said with a dreamy sigh.
“And you just couldn’t help but to give the crazy old man his wish,” the deer-woman said with a smirk at her husband.
“He loved her so much,” the formidable badass of the island cooed as he pressed a palm to one cheek. “So tragic.”
“You’re a big fat romantic, you know that, right?” I snorted.
“So, we’re not in trouble?” Rylan asked in a voice that cracked with anxiety.
“No, lad,” Mec said and came over so he could pat him on the shoulder and take a sleepy Meera from where she had crawled into Rylan’s lap. “It’s not like you had a choice in keeping the pools, so why should you be responsible? As far as I’m concerned, the Council removed the pools from the sun chapel just like all the rest twenty-five seasons ago.”
“Oh, excellent,” Dawn said as she helped me to my feet. “The natural pools, if they are intact, will imbue your blood with even more power to withstand the ceremony.”
“This ceremony sounds like it’s really challenging,” Rylan said and stood up next to me as well.
“It is more of an exercise in mental fortitude,” Mec explained. “When all of the Duelists stand inside the pool, the waters become harmless, but the Ashers must maintain their focused state. This is not as easy as it seems mostly due to the fact that Alex will be required to hold a stone shield over his head for the duration.”
“Not to mention, you will be losing a continuous stream of blood in order to make the tithes,” Dawn said and retrieved a handful of some type of herb from the leather pouch slung low on her waist. She then sprinkled some of the herbs into a teacup, picked up the teapot sitting on the small glass table, and poured the rest of the steaming liquid over the cup’s contents. “I will leave this for you, but you must drink this every day so your blood becomes stronger and you will not collapse from the loss when the time comes.”
“Thank you,” I said as I took the cup from her and sipped at tea that tasted a little like peppermint.
“I’ll make sure he gets his tea every day,” Zoie said and tucked the packet of herbs Dawn handed her into her corset for safe keeping.
“Why do I have to hold the shield thing?” I asked as I finished my tea. “I understand the focus part because having everyone die when they just wanna go swimming is not my idea of a good pool party.”
“The shield is an ancient tradition that started back from The First Tithing,” the deer-woman said. “Come, let us all walk and talk. My husband will tell us of the tale, as only he can.”
Everyone stood then and followed Mec’s wife as she led our entourage through the manor as if she knew where she was going. Which, considering her eyes were still faintly glowing silver, maybe she did.
“Long ago, after the Demon Tide was over, the Ashers tried to begin anew, and the Goddess gave her final blessing in the form of a test.” Mec’s voice rumbled low like distant thunder, and his cadence took on a storytelling quality to it.
His daughter, Meera, cuddled against her father’s chest as if this was a routine of theirs, which it probably was since I was pretty sure he was the type to tuck her into bed at night.
She was definitely a lucky little girl because Mec’s entrancing Voice thrummed through the air and held his audience completely captive.
“The people needed a way to live inland so they could take refuge in the mountains and valleys of Aventoll while the Seas recovered from the Scourge,” the ram-lord continued as we all headed for the back stairs that led up to the garden in the northern courtyard. “They knew the streams and rivers were a reminder of how Mercedes sacrificed her heart to provide the lands with our glorious Sun, but they needed a way to live off her waters. So, one night, the Goddess appeared to her Asher Children in the form of a Sacred Fish and led them to their destiny.”
“Tell them about the perilous journey, Papa!” Meera perked up.
“Yes, of course, Daughter,” Mec chuckled. “Every quest to prove your worth involves a daring and perilous journey. The first obstacle was avoiding the eye of the Jealous Moon. So, the Goddess fashioned shields made out of stone for them to hold above their heads at night. The shields made them invisible, and even when the Moon turned red, he could not see a threat and therefore did not send the Scourge after our heroes.”
“That is why you must hold the stone shield above you as a symbol of your determination,” Dawn added as we approached the humble stone garden overgrown with ivy. On either side of the garden were two murals, and next to each mural were matching pools about six feet across with the statue of a fish frozen mid-leap as it jumped out of the water.
“I see,” I said as we all gathered around the eastern pool. “So, because of the shields, the Ashers made it unharmed to the Sacred Spring, right?”
“Not quite,” Zoie piped up, and I smiled fondly at the sight of her perked ears and swishing tail. “The heroes were captured, weren’t they?”
“That is correct, milady,” Mec said. “They were hidden from the Moon by the Goddess’ shields, but they were not hidden from the Moon’s First Children.”
“Who were they?” I asked.
“Monsters that used to live on this land before the Moon created the Demon Scourge,” Shay said in a solemn tone.
“Indeed.” The ram-lord nodded his horned head and then set his daughter down on the ground so he could take off her little leather shoes. “The Monsters captured the Ashers because the shields did not block their scent, and they were hunted. Their ankles were bound with iron cuffs that cut into their flesh, and they were forced to march through the Wandering Forests of West Alem to the twisting caves underground.”
“How did they get out?” Rylan asked in an awestruck voice, and I was glad I wasn’t the only one who was apparently hearing this story for the first time because I was eating it up just as much as he was.
“They beseeched the Goddess once more for a miracle, and she asked them if they were still willing to do what was necessary to provide for their people,” Mec went on and then started taking off his wife’s gladiator-like sandals and set them next to Meera’s. “She asked them if they would be brave enough to sacrifice their blood when the time came, and then she opened a gateway of fire that only the people with her blood could pass through.”
“Right under the Monsters’ noses, right, Papa?” Meera’s sweet voice chirruped.
“Indeed, little sprite!” he said and swung the little girl up to sit on his shoulders. “The brave Ashers found their way out of the darkness and finally made their way to the spring where the Goddess gave one the power to Bless the waters of the spring…”
Mec gestured with his large hand at Dawn, who lifted her silver gaze to the sky.
