The Crimson Spark, page 47
part #1 of Vagabond Legacy Series
Leo? Was that you?
Nea caught sight of Quinnel slipping out a side door and hurried after him as fast as she could manage. “Wait,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
“You need to lie down,” he said, not looking back at her. “Go join the rest of the wounded.”
“Go to hell,” she snarled. “I need to find Leo.”
“And I need to find Beljhar,” said Quinnel. “Something’s happened to him, to the Urna. That scream…”
“You’re not running away?”
“Not yet.”
He’s really got his mind made up, hasn’t he?
“They were in the garden,” she said. “Both of them.”
“Then that’s where we’ll start,” said Quinnel, offering his arm to help her walk.
“I don’t need…”
“Shut up, you’re barely standing.”
Nea glowered at him but took his cold arm all the same, using it to prop herself up as they made their way through the halls of Equius. It was a strange feeling, sharing victory with so many people. Perhaps Leo would be able to appreciate it better than her.
Still, you did it.
“Yeah I suppose I did.”
“What’s that?” asked Quinnel absently.
“Nothing,” she said, smiling to herself. “Mind your business.”
*
Nea’s heart nearly stopped when she saw how much blood now coated the garden. Beljhar was kneeling among the flowers, eyes utterly blank, a think trickle of blood running from his forehead. The scarecrow’s corpse was still there, but he was wrapped in his cloak now, his eyes closed. Standing over him, was—
“Leo!” Nea nearly shrieked as she fell to her knees beside him, pulling him tighter than she’d ever held anyone in her life.
Leo said nothing, just stared at her. He reached out to touch her face, as if unable to believe she was real.
“Nea?”
Nea nodded, fighting back tears. Then it was Leo’s eyes that began to stream and he pulled her close again, shaking quietly. “I thought you were dead.”
“Take more than a fall to kill me, you know that.”
“You stopped him,” said Quinnel, looking over the scene. “Where’s—”
“Here,” said Leo, holding out the shards of the Urna. “It’s over.”
“You saved us,” Nea whispered. “You saved all of us.”
“I what?”
“We were going to be overwhelmed before you shattered the Urna,” continued Quinnel. “When it was destroyed, its illusions went with it. Including the ones we kept around our necks. Most of my brothers didn’t have the will to keep fighting after that.”
“You… you were fighting?”
“The little miss brought your friends to help in the battle,” grunted Quinnel. “The bird and the fish. It was a nice idea.”
And him. Couldn’t have done it without him.
“Kokaleth and Zephyr are here too?”
Nea nodded eagerly. “They all came.”
The joyful look of pride in Leo’s eyes was enough to make her start crying again. She looked away, eyes falling on the unmoving form of Beljhar. “Is he dead?”
Leo shook his head. “He’d used the Urna on himself just before I broke it. I don’t know what’s happened to him.”
“The hell did all this blood come from then?” said Nea, looking around.
“He stabbed me.”
“What? Where?” Nea leapt back into a panic.
Leo just smiled and held out his black arm. Nea saw that the armored flesh of Knail had moved further up Leo’s forearm, all the way to his elbow.
“It healed me. Just like before.”
Nea couldn’t help it, she hugged him again.
“What happened to your arm?” asked Leo.
“I fell on it like a bloody idiot,” she laughed. “No parasite to make this one better.”
“Just one thing left,” said Quinnel softly, turning his attention to Beljhar. He seized him by the throat, hauling him off the ground. Nea watched in astonishment as a tiny line of ice began to form around his former master’s neck.
“Stop!” Leo cried scrambling to his feet. “He’s no harm to anyone now!”
“My father…”
“Quinnel,” said Leo gently. “He doesn’t deserve it. Wherever he is right now, it’s worse than being dead.”
Quinnel slowly loosened his hold on Beljhar, tossing him back to the ground. As he did a troop of armed Fortuan soldiers came rushing into the garden.
“You!” They ordered, blades trained on Quinnel. “Throw down your weapons and surrender.”
“Wait!” said Nea, rushing between him and the soldiers. “He’s not—”
Quinnel brushed her aside gently, dropping his knives at the guards’ feet, and splaying his hands.
“What are you—?”
“Your boy is right,” said Quinnel, looking back at her as they clapped him in irons. “It’s over. And I’ve crimes to answer for.”
“You can’t…” Nea stammered. “You helped me.”
“Suppose we’re even then,” he said with one of his awkward smiles. He let the soldiers lead both him and Beljhar from the garden.
Nea made to run after him, but only then did she become truly aware of her injuries. Leo caught before she fell, helping her to sit.
Nothing you can do for him now.
“I’m fine,” she grumbled, her vision flickering.
For a time they sat there, holding each other up. Leo seemed on the verge of collapsing as well, Knail having taken its toll on his body.
“Nea, I’m so sorry,” Leo said finally as though from far away. “It’s my fault. I killed him.”
She looked into Leo’s eyes, consciousness slipping away from her. Tears were streaming down his face, he didn’t even bother to hide it. Nor did she. Before Nea blacked out, she reached out and put a hand on Seiyariu’s cold body.
Goodbye, scarecrow.
She closed her eyes, holding Leo tight. The three of them together, one last time.
76
Dulcinea
“I’m fine alright! Stop fussing.”
“I’m not fussing,” said Cain, rolling her eyes. “You’ve got a broken arm, now sit down before I make you.”
Nea grumbled and sat back on the stool. One of the barracks had been converted into a makeshift hospital. Healers from the city were bustling about, attending to all the wounded men. Two days had passed since the battle had ended. During which, everyone had treated Nea like a bloody child. The healers wanted to check on her splint every few hours to make sure she didn’t get an infection. So Nea was spending a lot of time popping in and out of the sick-ward.
Like nobody ever broke their damn arm before.
Nea’s complaints were mostly playful, and her heart had leapt when she’d found Cain waiting for her in the ward that morning. The lady knight’s teasing put Nea’s heart at ease. She knew that it meant the worst of the soldiers’ injuries were dealt with. And indeed, most of them were sitting up, talking, laughing. The king had spent much of the first day among them shaking hands and thanking the wounded for their service.
Shifted that onto Cain now that he’s sure nobody’s dying.
But Nea knew that Cain would’ve been among her soldiers the whole time, whether Chiron asked her to or not.
“They said I won’t be able to use it for at least a month,” said Nea.
“I’d say that’s being conservative,” said Cain with a sigh.
Nea stared at the splint.
This what it felt like for Leo?
“Have you seen Leo?” asked Cain, as if reading her mind.
Nea shrugged. “Not today.”
Indeed he’d been keeping odd hours in the days since the battle. She was worried about him truly, but honestly wasn’t sure what to do. Grief had consumed her these past few days. She’d never experienced anything like it.
Must be even worse for him. Probably why he’s keeping to himself.
“Well His Majesty wants to speak with the two of you bright and early tomorrow,” said Cain.
Nea raised an eyebrow. “He gonna give me a medal or something? Thank me for my clever plans.”
Cain gave her a stern look. “That was not a clever plan.”
“Worked didn’t it? Besides, don’t tell me you wouldn’t have tried it.”
Cain let herself laugh. “I suppose none of us really know what we’re capable of until the very last moment.” She gave Nea a knowing look. “You saved us.”
“Leo saved us,” she mumbled, embarrassed.
“If you hadn’t come when you did, I think I and every one of these men would’ve died. That’s twice I owe you my life.”
“Suppose we’re even then,” said Nea, her mind drifting back to Quinnel. He was still imprisoned with the rest of the Briars, she hadn’t been allowed to go see him. “What does Chiron want to talk about?”
“Perhaps, if you’re very good, Chiron will put you on a ship to Conoscenzia,” said Cain, eyes sparkling.
“Conoscenzia.” How long had it been since she’d thought about that?
“What’s wrong? Do you still plan to make your way there?”
Nea didn’t know what to say. In truth, she had no idea what was next for her, for Leo, for anyone. “I don’t know anymore. Listen.” She looked Cain in the eyes. It was easier than she thought it’d be. “You remember when you told me you saw the whole world as a machine, all moving parts working together?”
“I do.”
“Well I was thinking. When I was on that beach, and I didn’t know if you lot were alive. Whatever my part in that machine was, I don’t think it worked properly until you came around.”
Cain clasped Nea’s hand and she thought for a moment she saw tears in the lady knight’s eyes. She couldn’t find the right words. Nea didn’t mind. They had made it through this together, in one piece. For that, she would never stop being grateful.
“I’ve got something for you,” said Cain, trying to compose herself.
“You want to give me a medal too?”
Cain snorted and from under her chair she produced a small brown package bound with a length of purple string.
“What’s this?” asked Nea, taking it gingerly. She could already tell it was a book, it felt bloody expensive.
“It’s a gift,” said Cain, her eyes suddenly sad. “Seiyariu wanted you to have it.”
Nea looked at her, confused. “Just me? Not Leo too?”
Cain shook her head. “He just said it was for you. We’re going to have a service for him, in the wood tomorrow night. I think he would’ve liked that.”
Nea nodded, trying not to meet Cain’s gaze. “Yeah, I think he would too.”
Nea returned to her room in the eastern wing of the castle. Leo still wasn’t back yet, so she stretched out on the bed and opened the package. As she’d thought, it was a book. A leather-bound classic, the kind wealthy aristocrats payed a great deal of money for. How in the hell had Seiyariu gotten his hands on it?
Probably stole it. But why me? What are you playing at scarecrow?
Curiosity piqued, Nea made herself comfortable and cracked the book open. She’d been reading a lot over the past few days, there wasn’t much else she could do with her arm the way it was. And it gave her an escape. The world felt so much colder without the scarecrow in it. Nea found herself longing to escape between the pages and spend a few hours as someone else.
The book was a translated work from the continent. The author and the characters all had strange names she couldn’t quite pronounce, and the story was set on the mainland. It was about a crazed old man who ran off and pretended to be a knight. Nea read on for hours, a light rain falling on the window outside, until she came to a passage that made her stop dead. She read it again and again, her hand shaking.
The mad knight had a lady, or at least he said he did. A lady of great beauty and elegance. A lady he called Dulcinea. She appeared to the knight as this perfect woman, but that was merely a product of his deluded mind. In reality she was only a filthy peasant whore, cruel and jaded, fed up with the world.
Nea suddenly realized there were tears running down her cheeks.
So that’s it, scarecrow? You knew the whole time?
Not only had he known she was a girl, he’d known how she felt, filthy and ruined, just like that whore. Yet still he’d called her Dulcinea. He was as mad as the knight in the story. How insane must a man have to be to see beauty in someone so ruined?
She read on, fighting through the emotion that threatened to overwhelm her. Nea read until she couldn’t see through her tears. Every new page was like agony, but she needed to keep going. The crazed old knight, in her head he spoke with Seiyariu’s voice and she needed to follow him to the end of his story.
77
By Deed of the King
Leo arrived late to his audience with Chiron. He’d kept to himself much of the past few days. He hadn’t wanted to, but he didn’t think he could bear to look Nea in the eyes right now. He couldn’t face himself in the mirror, how could he face her? She’d watched him murder Seiyariu. Would she ever be able to look at him as she had before?
Every morning since the battle, Leo had found himself praying that he would wake and that it would all be a dream. That Seiyariu would stride in with some grand new adventure for them to undertake and they would leave Equius together, at peace.
Leo had murdered him, just as he had murdered that man by the lake, just as he had murdered Pluto. He wanted to put the blame on Beljhar, but try as he might he couldn’t. He’d broken free of the Urna hadn’t he? Why couldn’t he have done it when it mattered most?
Every day since Nico died, Leo had lived with grief. It never got smaller. When he’d found Nea and Seiyariu it had felt easier to carry somehow. Now Seiyariu was gone and a new grief ate at him, and the one person who could help him bear this burden, he didn’t have the courage to face.
But there she was, waiting for him in the audience chamber, her arm in a splint, talking animatedly to the King. As Leo shut the door behind both pairs of eyes settled on him.
“Mister Fortunato,” said Chiron. His voice was soft and neutral, preventing Leo from getting any kind of sense of his mood.
Nea didn’t say anything, but she tried to catch his eye. Leo avoided this and hurried to stand before the King. “Forgive me Your Majesty I was—”
“It’s unimportant,” said Chiron with a wave of his hand. “This won’t take long.”
His metal half gave a great lurch as he started to pace back and forth. “I wish to thank both of you. Had it not been for your efforts, it’s likely the Briars would’ve overrun us.”
“Quinnel said that they had men pretending to work here for years,” said Nea.
“So it appears. Beljhar’s indoctrination was powerful even for some of the most loyal members of this house.” A shadow fell across his face. “But we will rebuild. Never again will we allow something like this to happen.”
“Nice words,” said Nea folding her arms.
“What are you going to change?” asked Leo.
“Well, for a start, I believe I’ll begin to heed the advice of vagabonds again. My own distaste for the profession notwithstanding, it’s clear they have more knowledge of what goes on in my kingdom than I do. And I don’t intend things to stay that way. I thought about awarding the two of you with some kind of medal, but I imagine the less you have to take with you on the green road the better.” Chiron continued. “I’m prepared to grant you each one request. Anything within my power to do.”
Leo stared at the King in disbelief for a moment. “A… anything?”
Nea’s jaw was slack, “You’re havin’ a laugh.”
“I assure you I’m not,” said Chiron, cocking an eyebrow. “Whatever you wish, provided it doesn’t impede the rights of my people. You can take what you will from the royal treasury or armory. I can have The Nuptial removed or I can give you land or titles, a place in my court, even a home within the walls of this castle. I leave it to you.”
Leo and Nea shot a look at one another, Leo’s uneasiness forgotten in the shock moment. His mind was racing. One request, within Chiron’s power. He thought about all he could ask the King for. The idea of staying in the palace would’ve appealed to him once, but now he couldn’t wait to get away from Equius; too much had happened for him to call this place home. No, all Leo wanted was to return to the road. He didn’t need a weapon, he had Knail. Money didn’t hold much sway. Lands and titles, Leo wouldn’t know what to do with those in the first place.
Losing the Nuptial. It would make wandering the roads of Fortuna easier certainly, but they’d gotten by fine with it so far. This made Leo think of the children still toiling away, enslaved in the opal mines. Leo would’ve liked to ask Chiron to march the Fortuan Army south and liberate every last one of those poor souls, but he knew that was one thing outside of the King’s power. The slaving companies, technically they were Chiron’s people too. The King couldn’t just take them apart because Leo asked. Leo would have to do that himself, one day.
Finally, a thought occurred to him. It was so simple that it had almost completely slipped his mind. What had caused all of this suffering? The conflict with Beljhar, the Briars? The same thing that had cut that rift between Leo and Seiyariu. Too many secrets.
“Will you tell your people about the Dashing of the Innocents?” asked Leo, looking right into Chiron’s cold grey eyes.
