The duelist 12, p.1
The Duelist 12, page 1
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Chapter 1
The day dawned slow and lethargic over the city of Medea. Horus, Sinopa, and I were in a study on the second floor of the manor, and the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the horizon, which glittered with mid-morning sunlight.
It had been a few days since Sha-Kane and I confronted the Council of Ashers about their corruption. About how they’d Cursed the Island of Lycae to preserve their power, how they’d founded the Silent Ones to create Red Skies to terrorize the Peoples, and how they’d murdered any Council heirs who refused to get with the program.
If not for Sinopa’s intervention, I probably would have been killed. Councilman Crane had attacked me, and Sinopa Crevan was the only reason Crane’s attack hadn’t landed. As I looked over at the fox-man, I felt my mouth twitch in a smile. He’d slipped so easily into our Crew, even though we’d only known him about a week, and I was glad to have his support.
With Sinopa, Sha-Kane, Horus, and a handful of other members, we were beginning to get enough leverage within the Council to enact real change, a system of government that wouldn’t be based on an accident of birth, a power handed down from father to son out of complacency and entitlement. The new Council would be fair, democratic, and open to everyone.
This dream had distracted me several times over the past few days, and as I turned to look back out of the windows, it snared me again, and I fell into a reverie of imagining what Aventoll would be like once it was truly and completely free.
Of course, though, that wouldn’t be the case until we’d dealt with the Order of Mercedes, and with Kavo Alda. I saw my reflection in the window glass, how it tightened just at the thought of Kavo and all he’d done. His crimes were innumerable, his remorse non-existent, and there was no way we were going to let him get away with it.
If it took the rest of my life, I would hunt him down and make him pay.
While Sha-Kane and I had been dealing with the Council, Kavo snuck into this manor. The others had all been in the basement destroying Teivel Tas’ machine that could control demons, so they hadn’t encountered Kavo. I couldn’t help but feel like that was a blessing, though, because if Kavo was anything like his brother, Krev, his patience would have been dangerously thin.
I still felt a wave of fury crash over me whenever I thought about it. The bastard had left a note on my bed, the place where my wives and I slept. If any of them had seen Kavo wearing my face, they would have known it wasn’t me, and there was no doubt in my mind Kavo would have killed them.
“Alex?”
Horus’ voice penetrated my darkening thoughts, so I looked over at the falcon-man to see he was staring at my hands, and I realized I’d crushed the bit of paper I was holding.
It wasn’t the note from Kavo, it was a page of notes I’d made as Horus, Sinopa, and I continued our research on how best to restructure the Council. I sheepishly unclenched my fist and tried to smooth out the crumpled paper. It was a list of the current Council, split into two columns: those who would help us, and those who wouldn’t.
At least for now, we wanted to keep the Council as similar as possible during the transition period, so the more ‘original’ members we could keep, the better. Of course, at least half of them wanted me dead, as well as Sha-Kane, Sinopa, and anyone who helped us, but several other members wanted change, too. They wanted to serve Aventoll, like the Council’s motto claimed.
“Sorry,” I said to Horus as I finished smoothing out the paper. “Got… distracted. Lost in thought.”
“You’re thinking about Kavo again, aren’t you,” Horus said, and my face must have registered some kind of surprise that he’d guessed correctly, because he then added, “You had that look on your face.”
“Look?” I asked. “What look?”
“Like you’re personally going to burn down everything he ever built and take away everything he ever loved,” the falcon-man answered.
“Well…” I shrugged. “That’s because I am.”
I turned back to the list of Council members and tried to focus, but my thoughts kept drifting to Kavo. What was he doing right now? What was he planning?
“Stop it,” Horus told me. “Worrying about him isn’t going to help any.”
“That’s probably precisely what Kavo wants you to do,” Sinopa added. “Distract you from your mission, so you make mistakes, or miss important details.”
“Psychological warfare,” I agreed with a nod. It was a good tactic, and I’d used it myself to great effect on a few occasions. But that also meant it really, really sucked to be on the receiving end of it.
With some effort, I pushed aside all thoughts of Kavo, more forcefully this time, and turned my attention back to the plans.
“So, we agree Sha-Kane will be the Head Councilman,” I said, and the two other men nodded.
“Sha-Kane is well-respected, even by the most traditional members,” Sinopa said. “And his predecessor, Shaw Aras, was even more revered. The Council would struggle to find a reason why he would be an unsuitable leader.”
Horus glanced at me, and I glanced at Horus. There was one pretty major reason a Council member might object to Sha-Kane leading the Council, and that was the fact Horus was his illegitimate son. Only a handful of people knew, but if it got out, it would be a scandal of reputation-destroying proportions. My reputation was distinct but polarizing, and I had as many enemies as I had admirers. Sha-Kane, however, was well-regarded for his respect of Aventoll’s traditions, even as he advocated for a more modern approach.
“I have to say, I don’t envy him that position,” I said with a grimace, because I didn’t. I wanted everyone in Aventoll to be free, obviously, but I didn’t have the patience or the debate skills for the political sphere. I’d always had more luck with my fists or a sword than with my words.
But that was probably also due, at least partly, to the type of enemies I’d been facing. Sha-Kane had a much better idea of how to navigate political nuance, and I had no doubt in my mind he would do excellently.
“Nor do I,” Sinopa agreed in a somewhat grim tone. “Honestly, I’d be happy to wash my hands of the Council entirely-- once Aventoll is in a safe position for me to do so.”
I admired the fox-man’s commitment, not just to his own people, the Vulpians of Leen, but to Aventoll as a whole.
“That time will come,” I assured Sinopa. “As soon as the new Council is firmly established.”
“Speaking of which,” the fox-man said, and he looked between Horus and me. “Have you decided what to do with Councilman Crane’s old assets?”
I’d killed Crane in a Duel several days ago, when Sinopa, Sha-Kane, and I confronted the Council, but so far I’d made no moves to take his manor, his money, or his wives.
Killing Crane had also given me a second seat on the Council, which was something I neither wanted nor thought was fair, so I’d given it to Horus.
“Technically, since I gave Horus his seat, Crane’s assets are Horus’ problem,” I said, and I looked at the falcon-man, who frowned.
“I want nothing to do with that ghastly old house,” he said. “It’s even bigger than this manor and has none of my friends and family in it.”
“You’re not interested in taking more wives?” Sinopa asked, and he seemed genuinely curious. “I hear Crane’s youngest wife is a woman of twenty-three seasons, a sharp-witted young Vulpian.”
“I have Anwaar.” Horus shrugged. “She’s all I could ever want, or need.”
I remembered after a second that Horus had never expected to become an Asher. His legal-but-not-biological father, Archus Doler, had refused to enact the Passing Rite, and Horus grew up in the Academy, studying to be an Alchemist. He’d met Anwaar there and had been smitten with her since he’d been a teenager, so really it made sense that he had no interest in taking another wife.
“In that case, we’ll have to figure out a different fate for Crane’s wives and assets,” I said. “I’d rather not see them sold over to the Traders. Perhaps they can return to their families.”
“That’s a kind thing,” Sinopa said. “It might help win over the support of some of the more traditional citizens of Alem.”
“Good, because I’d prefer if their representatives on the new Council didn’t want me dead,” I remarked with a wry smile. “Which reminds me, what do you think we should do about Eng and Lycae?”
“What do you mean?” Horus asked me with a slight frown. “They’ll be allowed to have representatives, too.”
“Obviously.” I waved my hand toward the falcon-man. “But their Islands are Cursed, and the Engish and Lycaens are spread all over Aventoll.”
“It’s true the diasporas will make it more difficult for Eng and Lycae to elect their Council representatives,” Sinopa said as his brow furrowed. “But the Engish are industrious and resourceful, and the Wolfmen Tribes have their own methods of communicating. I’m sure they’ll manage, at least for a time.”
Figuring out how to un-Curse Lycae and Eng was rapidly rising to the top of our to-do lists, because if there was one way to c onvince the Peoples we meant well, and that our new democratic system would be an improvement, it was to show everyone from every Island would have a fair say in how Aventoll was governed.
“I don’t suppose you’ve had any epiphanies on how to lift the Curses?” Sinopa then asked Horus, and the falcon-man stared at him in confusion until Sinopa continued. “You are an Alchemist, are you not? And married to an Order mage?”
“I am, and I am,” Horus said with a nod. “But as incredible as Anwaar is, the type of magic used to Curse Eng and Lycae is an order of magnitude beyond what she’s capable of, and what we’ve both studied. The only person who would really know the inner workings of a Curse would be the person who cast it, and the High Priestess who Cursed Lycae would be long dead. Possibly the one who Cursed Eng, too, depending on how old she was when she did it.”
That was unencouraging to say the least, but I remained optimistic. We’d managed to overcome every problem we’d encountered thus far, and I was sure this would be no different.
Even if it would maybe take a little longer to figure out.
“You know what, I think I need a break,” I said as I stood from my seat. “We all do. We’ve been focused on one thing for too long, we’ll be of more use with fresh eyes and clearer minds. We should do something else for a while.”
It was true Horus and I had been at this since just before dawn, and Sinopa arrived to help just after dawn. All of us had been here for hours, even though the day was only just starting.
Everyone else in the manor was taking a much more lethargic approach, and I could hardly blame them. We’d been Island-hopping almost non-stop for months now, and they deserved a break. Especially Zoie and Shay, who were both pregnant and needed to conserve their energy.
I found myself wanting to wrap them up in a million layers of soft blankets, even though I knew they were both capable women, able to fight their own battles. Part of it was the fact that they were both in a more delicate state right now. Part of it was I wanted them to be as comfortable and content as possible, to see I was a devoted and caring husband who would do anything to help them during a difficult time.
Part of it was Kavo Alda.
Right now, though, Shay and Zoie were both nesting in the family room of the manor. Zoie had amassed a truly ludicrous number of blankets and pillows from elsewhere in the house and selected only the warmest, softest, snuggliest ones to be part of her mothering nest. Shay seemed a little less fixated on blanket-selection, but it was clear she still adored having a warm, soft, snuggly place to relax, so I suspected the nest-building was mainly a Varthan thing.
However, lethargic didn’t mean they were doing nothing at all. While Shay and Zoie were primarily occupied with their impending motherhood, Sha-Kane, Nova, and Sera had all been endeavoring to finish translating the diary of Nova’s mother, Esta. With Sera, who was also a Lakuna child, it was going a lot more quickly than before we’d met her, but she was still periodically stymied by unusual words, because most of Lakuna culture was oral, rather than written.
Amaya and Anwaar, meanwhile, had turned their attention to our next target: the Order. Until Jenner and the others returned from Eng with the Archives they’d recovered, there wasn’t a lot we could do about the Order just yet, but the Mec sisters had a dispute to settle. They’d once served the Order dutifully, when they believed serving the Order meant serving Mercedes, but once it became clear the Order was only interested in serving itself, the sisters’ indignation and sense of betrayal had turned to a righteous demand for justice.
“The Order is preying on the faith and devotion of good, innocent people,” Amaya explained to me tearfully only two nights ago. “The Prophetess is just one part of their corruption, so many people have only wanted to help, and they’ve been tricked into serving others’ greed and lust for power.”
She’d cried against me, and I had held her and kissed her tears away. But even after the tears dried, it didn’t change the fact that the Order’s corruption was ongoing, and it would be up to us to stop it.
Horus, Sinopa, and I walked out of the second-floor study and down to the first floor, and I’d expected the foyer to be empty, but instead Amaya and Anwaar were there and seemingly rushing from one side to the other.
“Alex!” Amaya called when she saw me, and she stopped running after her older sister. “Could you get Nova and the others?”
“Get them?” I asked the oryx-woman. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“Not at all,” Anwaar answered, and she shot me a serene smile. “Jenner and the others have returned from Eng. Maya saw their ship docking from the letters tower.”
“Wait, what?” I asked, and my serious, politics-and-Kavo-Alda mood vanished into smoke as a grin split across my face. “Jenner and Rylan are back?”
“I would recognize that ship and Vela’s magic anywhere,” Amaya said firmly, and I believed her. She was, after all, an immensely powerful augur.
With the oryx-woman’s confirmation, I dashed back up the stairs to the study where Sha-Kane, Sera, and Nova had been working. The osprey-man was hunched over a page of notes he’d transcribed as Sera read the diary aloud, and he was underlining words of particular importance, or perhaps words Sera had not fully been able to translate. Sera herself was sitting on one of the couches and chatting pleasantly with Nova.
Nova had become extremely fond of her ‘auntie’ extremely quickly, and every time I saw the two Lakuna women talking, it made something warm bloom in my chest. Nova had been so deprived of her culture and her family, but now with Sera here, she could get some of it back. Sera had no end of stories about her and Esta as children, and the more snippets I overheard, the more I suspected Esta had been just as curious and mischievous as her daughter was.
“Alex,” Nova said when I walked in, and Sera and Sha-Kane both turned to look at me. “Is everything alright?”
“Absolutely,” I answered with a warm smile. “Amaya saw a ship docking from the letters tower, Jenner and the others are back from Eng.”
“Back?” Nova repeated as she perked up eagerly. She still had a tendency to revert to single-word sentences when she was excited.
“They should be here any minute now,” I promised, and the green-skinned woman leapt up from her seat, hugged me tight around the neck, and then dashed off out the door before I even had time to reciprocate the hug.
“She’s very energetic,” Sera remarked with a smile, and when she looked at me, her teal eyes had a sort of knowing, motherly look, tinged with sadness. “Esta used to get like that, around the people she loved.”
“It must be strange, seeing echoes of someone you knew so well in someone you… don’t,” I said.
The Lakuna woman nodded and looked down at her hands in her lap, and a sheet of blue-black hair slipped over her shoulder to hide her face from view.
“It is, and it isn’t,” she told me after a long moment. “I love that I have a chance to see my Esta again, if only glimpses. I love that Nova is as unabashedly caring as Esta was. I am sad Esta is gone, but I am beyond joyous Nova is here, and happy, and that I can be part of her life.”
“And she feels the same,” I assured the Lakuna woman.
She gave me a kind smile and then rose from her seat. At the same time, Sha-Kane stood up, too, like he thought it was improper for him to sit when Sera wasn’t also sitting.
“Our friends have returned, and with news of progress to boot,” the osprey-man said to Sera and me. “Dwelling on the past has its time, but right now we should be rejoicing.”
“We should,” I agreed with a smile. I’d missed Jenner dearly, and Rylan, who would be over the Moon to learn he would be getting even more siblings. I was excited to see his reaction when Shay delivered the news, and even more excited to hear what Jenner had discovered in the buried Archives.
The four of us went back downstairs to find Amaya and Anwaar had managed to pull Zoie and Shay out of their mothering nest, which was a feat that was proving more difficult by the day. Zoie’s baby bump had become more prominent, and she’d taken to wearing flowy dresses, similar to what Shay normally wore, because her leather fighting gear was too fitted for her pregnant belly.
I thought she looked like a goddess draped in midnight-blue fabric the same shade as her eyes, with her long dark hair flowing over her shoulders, and her hands resting over her stomach in a subtly protective posture. She smiled up at me when she saw me coming down the stairs, and I gave her a small, excited wave.
