Chapter 53: Enclave XXIII

Chapter 53: Enclave XXIII

Ashby of House Morrow lay crumpled in the dirt, whimpering, his left arm bent at an odd angle. I watched from a distance as his three sons, including my once friend, Feran, gathered around their father in a uncoordinated effort to lift the man from the ground.

On the first attempt, Ashbys broken face came up for a moment, only to limply plant itself back into the dirt. Then they successfully hoisted him and moved him to the medical tent. I only caught Ferans eye for a moment, but that was long enough for his cold hostility to be clearly felt.

My father tossed the broadsword in my general direction, underhanded, so the hilt rotated bounced off the earth next to my feet.

Do your job, squire. He commanded.

I did as he asked, silently collecting his sword and the helmet he discarded on the ground. The murmurs of disapproval and gossip wafting over from the rows of spectators silenced immediately when the king glared in their direction, slowing returning when he went to the water barrel. Father seemed to consider dipping his skin into it then disregarded the notion. Instead, he lifted the entire barrel and drank from it in large gulps, then overturned it on his head.

A stomach curdling wail sounded from the medical tent. I cringed.

Tell me why I did what I did. My father took a seat, his face stony, water dripping in beads from his long hair and chin.

I understand the transgression. I said, careful to keep my tone respectful. House Morrow overstepped. They sought to increase their station out of turn. You corrected their misgivings.

If I wanted a flabby politicians interpretation of the events, Id have dragged one from the stands. My fathers gaze focused on me, his mouth firm and tight. Tell me, why I did what I did.

It was clear from the way he said it that further obfuscation would cost me dearly.

I dont know. I admitted. Theyre hardly the first to critique the crown. We have more enemies than friends these days. Perhaps you had a grander purpose in mind, but from where I stood that looked

Petty.

I remembered the way my father had drawn out the duel when he could have ended it cleanly nearly a dozen times. This particular broadsworda simple Uskarrian bladewas thicker than a standard sword and blunted at the edges. Hed hacked at the joints of the other mans arms and the back of his legs, blade singing against armor and crunching against bone.

Unnecessary, I finished.

Is that compassion I see, boy? The muscles in his neck bulged.

No father.

I dont believe you.

At the very most, its empathy. I held my hands out as if to ward off the accusation. Experiencing my fathers wrath was not an experience soon forgotten, even if it had never been quite so physical for me as it had been for Ashby. Still, his eyes had that look of a shrewd analysis, as he decided whether I needed to be reminded of the proper outlook for a prince.

In moments like these, it was best to distract him. What I dont understand is why you went so far. It was necessary to demonstrate strength in response to House Morrow. If House Morrow was a military house, I would understand. But theyve been mostly scribes for over a decade. Feran could barely ride a horse. I had to practically bribe the boy to get him out of the library.

Yes. Your little friendship. Perhaps that is the source of your lack of will. A small group of servants gathered around him with platters of pungent food, which he sampled absent-mindedly. I did what I did because Ashby asked me to.

He asked you to? I repeated, not understanding.

Thats the thing all these diplomats and politicians will never understand, son. Gil looked towards the murmuring throng, resentment clear on his face. A man speaks more truly and honestly with his hands than his voice ever could.

That almost sounds like an excuse to routinely eschew diplomacy with violence. I said blandly, staring straight ahead despite feeling his eyes on me.

Perhaps to some flowery pup untouched by war. Diplomacy has its place, boy. No one is contesting that. Otherwise, wed still be fighting with the dwarves over the eastern subterranean.

As I remembered, the only reason that particular conflict had ended was that the dwarves had finally banded together and barricaded themselves within a mountain fortress. Their many earth magicians and networks of tunnels made it practically impossible to cut off their supply lines for a significant amount of time. Couple that with their ability to reinforce defenses almost infinitely and the loss of life from trying to press unto the mountain was simply not worth the loss of life, even for King Gil.

And Ashby was asking to be beaten within an inch of his life? I asked, unable to hold my tongue.

My most immediate problem was that I was running out of wall. Adage! I yelled, Little help?

With nowhere else to go, I coiled my legs beneath me and kicked off the wall, sending myself catapulting across the empty air of the foyer. The ball of lightning followed doggedly behind.

Jorra looked between me and Ephira. Her arm was still outstretched, glowing hand guiding the projectile. He seemed to come to a decision.

In a practiced motion Id seen a dozen times, Jorra cast a water projectile at the counselors face. I was expecting her to block it, hoping for a moment of distraction.

What I wasnt expecting was for her to cancel the projectile all together, focusing all her efforts on diffusing Jorras attack. The aegis she summoned was massive and cone shaped, ensuring she wasnt touched by a single drop of the water.

Jorra catapulted himself away from a forking branch of lightning, swinging upwards and awkwardly landing on the ceiling, where he fired another water bomb at her face. Again, Ephira responded with the absurdly oversized aegis.

It was almost as if

Several things occurred to me at once. First was that Ephira was a single element mage. Second, was that most elements had the same self-immunity as demon-fire. That was due to the mages unique mana being used to shape the element, sort of like a fingerprint. A fire magician could still be burned by another fire magician. In theory, Ephira should not be able to shock herself.

But what if her element was filtered through another magicians?

It was worth a shot.

Adage.

Jorra rotated to look at me, jetting down from the ceiling towards the floor. We locked eyes for just a moment.

Quantity over quality. I said.

He looked puzzled. Then smiled. They did say to make a messoh shit!

Thunder cracked, but the lightning hit the opposite wall, momentum from the spell sending a shape hurtling towards me. It seemed that Ephira had finally adjusted to the absence of gravity. Her fist cracked into the side of my head, and I spun head over heels away from the wall, grasping at it with my clawed hand and missing by less than an inch. Helplessly, I floated out into space.

I saw her glide over towards me. She tossed a few bolts of electricity at Jorra, nailing him in the shoulder and sending him flying. I couldnt see his face, but his body was limp.

Ephira spoke as if she was talking to a mentally deficient pet. You know, my staff made me come here. Take a day for yourself, they said. Spend time with Mifral. You like her, right? Have a ladies' day. Ephiras hand gripped my throat. And you, most ignoble guest, are interrupting my ladies day.

Ephira reached forward with her other hand, intent on removing my mask when I caught a flash of movement above me. But she saw it too.

Time to commit.

I swiped out with my gloveless hand, scraping some of the pink salve on her face into her eye. She let out a cry of surprise, instinctively retreating to cover it, when enough water to fill a small lake came crashing down on our heads, submersing us both and sending us tumbling towards the floor.

We bounced off the ground. I blinked water away, and it fled from me in tiny droplets.

Ephira stared venomously, eye swollen shut, face twisted in pathetic rage. Her hair hung over her face and she looked vaguely horrifying. But she didn't try to cast.

I'd gotten it right.

I had no doubt from her expression. She'd tear the enclave apart looking for us. But I'd bought us time.

Jorra descended to my side, pulling me out of the free float. Guards are coming. Weve gotta move.

Sorry! Jorra yelled back to Ephira as we fled.