Heretic Spellblade 6 - Ch14

Chapter 14

“I’m not here to fight, Corporal,” Nathan said, raising his hands disarmingly.

The Inquisition corporal seemed incapable of speech. Nathan wasn’t even sure if the man had heard him over the cacophony sounding around them.

Rosewald’s castle was exactly what one might expect of the area. Compact, heavily fortified, tall, covered in turrets and arrow slits, and old enough to make its architectural provenance difficult to ascertain yet too new to date back to the ancient Empire. The keep stood on a hill overlooking a large town in Rosewald’s march, only a stone’s throw away from the Pearlescent Canyon and Prophet’s Hope. A pair of layered stone walls was presumably intended to keep invaders away—whether they be demons or Imperial soldiers.

Right now, they’d failed miserably, and the soldiers screamed bloody murder as a result. Alarms rang out. Armored boots clattered on steps as dozens more of Rosewald’s private guards charged toward Nathan.

In turn, every one stopped dead upon seeing their visitors.

Fei twirled her scimitar uncertainly, confusion writ across her face. Neither Seraph nor Ciana reacted.

“Um, are we fighting or not?” Fei asked.

“Do you intend on massacring our allies?” Seraph asked drily. “Put your weapon away, Fei.”

Abruptly, Fei realized every soldier was staring at her. Or, more accurately, her gems and beastkin features.

Because while both Fei and Seraph were trigems, only one of the pair were widely recognized. The sapphire trigem cat beastkin capable of torching entire armies of demons and soldiers alike while dancing across battlefields, who was also the first beastkin countess in the Empire, was known far and wide.

Nathan didn’t bring Fei for her non-existent negotiating skills. He brought her because people recognized her. And her ears and tails would remind Trafaumh of what he fought for, even if they might not appreciate that.

Perhaps he should have brought Fyre, but he worried about relying too heavily on the power of the prophet to convince Trafaumh. Particularly in this encounter.

“As I was saying,” Nathan continued, “I’m here to speak with Marquise de Rosewald about the current crisis gripping Doumahr. Is she in?”

The Inquisition corporal snapped back to life and saluted stiffly. “Revered Bastion Nathan, welcome to Trafaumh. We are currently in the middle of a great emergency and the Inquisition has—”

“I know exactly what is happening,” Nathan interrupted. “I’ve spent the past day battling Messengers and demons across the Empire. And I’m here to keep doing that. Is Rosewald here or not? I’m here as a diplomatic nicety, not to waste time on bureaucratic nonsense.”

Gulping, the corporal nodded. “I… Yes. She is presently with Inquisitor Haverman in her solar. If you’ll allow me, I shall escort you and your Champions there, post-haste.”

The soldier bowed so deeply that Nathan worried he might fall over. Immediately, the gathered soldiers formed ranks and slammed their halberds into the ground, allowing passage between them to the keep’s front gate.

After a short journey through the keep’s interior and up multiple flights of stairs, they were led to a private set of rooms. The guards here wore better armor. Finally, at the very entrance to their destination, Nathan recognized one of the guards from his previous visit to Soreaux. He’d been one of the bodyguards on the night he’d visited Rosewald. The spellblade, if Nathan recalled.

“So you’re behind the ruckus outside,” the spellblade said. “I hope you’re here to help our lady deal with this disaster.”

“I’m a Bastion. My job is to deal with disasters.”

“You might view things that way.” Despite his cynical words, he inclined his head and opened the door. “Lady de Rosewald, Revered Bastion Nathan von Straub is here.”

“Straub?” an elderly voice squawked. “Here?”

“Hush, Cedric,” Rosewald said.

Nathan entered, his Champions following.

The solar turned out to be little more than Rosewald’s study. Or perhaps a fancy sitting room. The term referred to a private room used by the Lord or Lady of the House to get away from guests and servants. This one appeared to be used to help Rosewald manage her affairs, which spoke to her dutifulness.

Rosewald herself had scarcely changed since Nathan met her months ago. A stern-faced woman in her 40s who favored fashionable, if conservative, clothes. The greatest change was that she’d let her long brown hair down. She looked as if she’d barely slept.

Next to her stood an elderly man in the black and red robes of an inquisitor. Nathan guessed his name to be Cedric Haverman, based on what he’d heard from the others. The name didn’t ring any bells. No doubt he was assigned to manage Rosewald’s march.

“I’d ask how you got here, but I feel it’s a waste of time,” Rosewald asked. “I am hoping it’s to help and not as a harbinger of invasion or as a messenger of a war declaration. Although I had expected you to be too busy with your own problems to offer much.”

Haverman’s eyes bulged. For some reason, the inquisitor looked past Nathan, as if searching for something. Or someone. Nathan spotted the elderly man clinging to something beneath the red cape that covered his chest. An idol of Omria, most likely.

“I’m afraid the prophet is busy assisting Her Majesty with managing the current crisis in the Empire,” Nathan said, causing Haverman to almost visibly slump. “But she will hopefully join us, assuming our talks are productive.”

“Are we going to cut to the chase? You were unusually straightforward last time we spoke,” Rosewald said, voice straining with politeness.

Nathan saw the map laid out over a large table behind her. The wooden figures and pins spread out across it created a haphazard image. One of a noble and inquisitor struggling to keep up with the unfolding cascade. They’d likely been up all night attempting to make sense of what was going on, while attempting to provide military assistance to Bastions and work out if they needed to evacuate.

“The cascade ripped through the Empire as well, but we were better positioned to respond and have it in hand,” Nathan said. “I won’t elaborate on how. What matters is that Trafaumh is in the most danger, and it’s worsening by the hour. I want to help, and ideally with some political support on this side of the border.”

Haverman shook his head. “While your drive to lend aid is welcome, the Order of Trafaumh has been independent from the Anfang Empire for centuries now. I cannot allow the Imperial Army to enter our borders when our own defenses have yet to fail.”

“Cedric, you cannot be serious—” Rosewald snapped.

“Neither of you know how bad things are,” Nathan said. “It’s not just a cascade. Falmir has invaded from the west.”

Both Rosewald’s and Haverman’s faces paled. The inquisitor looked back at the map, as if mentally picturing what might be occurring.

“Then the Empire…”

“They’re not invading you,” Rosewald said slowly. “Deverese told me that the cascade didn’t reach Aleich. That mad princess stopped short of invading during the Mortiswatch incident, so she wouldn’t pick a fight with the Empire in an even worse situation for her. No. This is about our mutual friends. Or, to be more accurate. My former friends.”

Nathan nodded. “Many of Trafaumh’s nobles are rebelling and siding with Falmir. It’s likely this is the justification around not declaring war, assuming Falmir even understands the ramifications around not doing so.”

“This is madness. Half of Doumahr is battling demons and they’re waging war,” Haverman said. He gripped his idol tightly enough that he wrenched it free from his cape.

The idol bore a pair of wolf’s ears, much like the one Fyre had blessed for Rosewald’s maid in Soreaux.

“Hence why I want to help. The Inquisition is stretched tightly and this cascade is unlike any other,” Nathan pressed. “I’m coming north with or without your permission. I’ve seen too many breaches as is and the devastation they wreak on people. Every one I can stop is countless lives saved.”

“And that’s all you’re here for?” Rosewald asked, her face unreadable. “To battle demons?”

He stared back with an expression that was equally unreadable. “Until Soreaux.”

“That’s not quite the same thing, Nathan.”

“No. But I think we’re both aware of the problem.”

As Rosewald and Nathan stared each other down, Seraph looked around the room. While none of the guards could hope to intervene and do anything, they felt the tension.

“Perhaps we can illuminate some of what’s happened,” Seraph suggested with a sidelong look at Nathan.

He inclined his head at her, while Rosewald simply nodded.

“We know Falmir is fomenting rebellion in Soreaux. We caught them in the act during our last visit, but they haven’t stopped. The coming days will be everything for them. I say that as somebody who used to handle similar jobs.” Seraph’s expression hardened. “Falmir knows that if Fyre reaches Soreaux, they lose. She’ll be recognized as the true prophet.”

“Unless they overthrow the Inquisition. Overrunning the citadel in a few days is a tall order,” Rosewald said.

“Do you think they’ll do it without help from Falmir?”

The noble bit her lip. “I see. Then do you plan to overthrow the Inquisition yourselves?”

“That depends on what we walk in on,” Nathan said.

“How can you—” Haverman began to say.

“Cedric, don’t,” Rosewald said.

Nathan sighed. “There’s a very good chance we’re going to arrive with the prophet, only to witness utter brutality. There may be no stepping back from the brink if the Inquisition retaliates with a massacre. Even if the choice they face is to commit an atrocity or to let their authority crumble, can the prophet let their violence against her people slide?”

“I understand. You know my stance on the situation,” Rosewald said. “At least within my march, I can lend my authority when you cross the border.”

Haverman said nothing. He merely stared at his idol.

“That will be sooner than you think. For the time being, I’ll handle any Bastions I run into. But if you can begin mustering your own soldiers to march toward Soreaux or to plug any breaches, that would help,” Nathan said.

“You want me to march on the capital?” Rosewald asked, incredulous.

“If the Inquisition is in danger,” Haverman abruptly said, before trailing off. He coughed. “No, if the prophet of Omria is entering Trafaumh and requires our aid as she crushes demons and heretics, it is our responsibility to accompany her. Whatever the Inquisition’s orders, we have recognized her. My faith demands that I follow.”

The look in Haverman’s eyes as he locked gazes with Nathan was a familiar one. That of zealotry. He recognized it from the civil war in the Empire, when so many beastkin had taken up arms for Fyre.

Now, more than just beastkin fought for her. Hopefully, she realized that.

“I need to return to the Empire. I’ll be assisting Deverese at his fortresses shortly and once the region is clear, both I and Fyre will join you,” Nathan said.

Rosewald and Haverman nodded.

The same corporal from earlier led them outside. By then, Nathan had prodded Reine into portaling them back. They vanished without another word.

Little had changed outside Aleich. Knights formed up in platoons, awaiting an order to march. By now, they’d gotten used to teleportation and knew they wouldn’t be literally marching several hundred miles north.

Crowds formed nearby from the populace of the city, held back by the Imperial soldiers defending the city. The loudest section erupted near Fyre, who finished a muted speech by her standards as Nathan walked through the portal. While a unit of Royal Knights screened his arrival, more than a few onlookers spotted his return from nearby hills or standing on the shoulders of others.

“I think everyone will know you can teleport,” Seraph said.

“It’s not the secret it used to be,” he admitted. “If our enemies and rivals know about it, I may as well let the people know.”

Tarako tittered from nearby, now hidden in her six-tailed disguise. Other than Reine, none of his Champions hovered nearby. He looked in the distance to see them gathered in front of the knights or keeping an eye on Fyre. Nurevia and Astra in particular seemed to be lingering near the prophet.

Given Nathan held no doubts about the dark elves’ loyalty, he suspected they were concerned about an assassination attempt. The same might need to be said about Reine.

“Is that truly wise?” Tarako asked, pulling him from his thoughts. “Not everyone will react well to your supreme power.”

“I can just say that I’m blessed by the prophet,” Nathan said. “I’m acting as her… I was going to say champion, but that’s not quite right.”

“It’s the other way around, yes.” The fox giggled and sipped from a small cup of sake as she sat on the grass. “I wish you luck.”

“You say that as if it’s not your problem.”

“I’m helping you defeat demons, not manage public relations.”

Fair point.

Reine crept up to him and Nathan noticed Tarako’s gaze wander.

Perhaps he’d been too hasty to question whether his Champions were protecting Reine. Tarako seemed to understand the risk, as although she enjoyed her sake, her twitching ears and tails suggested she remained alert.

“I’m ready to construct the portal for the knights at your command,” Reine said. “But there is a Champion who wishes to come with us.”

Nathan blinked, confused as to what she might mean. Too many seconds passed before he finally realized who that person might be.

He caught the gazes of his other Champions and turned. Vala stood a dozen feet behind him, leaning on her battle-axe while in full uniform.

In his old world, Vala had been his first Champion and arguably his closest. Here, she struggled to trust him even though she longed for the glory and power he granted her. A single diamond glittered from her collarbone, rather than the garnet she’d worn during her service to Falmir.

Vala’s appearance differed greatly from most Champions. She towered above most of them, and possessed powerful muscles and thighs that could shatter skulls without magical aid. Of course, Vala could crush much more than skulls with magic. Her bushy brown hair hung in a high ponytail. A deep tiredness dwelled in her eyes, projecting her exhaustion.

“You haven’t slept,” Nathan said, feeling a familiar annoyance with a Vala that wasn’t standing in front of him.

“You’re chiding me like you’re my mother,” Vala said, but her tone sounded lighter than it had ever been while speaking to him. “Isn’t it a good thing that I’m doing my job?” Defensiveness now.

“Yes. But I’m certain I also gave orders to rest.”

“You’re heading to Trafaumh. I’m staying behind.” Hurt surfaced in those eyes.

Nathan wondered if she’d seen Nurevia’s or Kara’s extra gem and realized that she’d also missed her chance to become a duogem. Not that he’d have risked gemming her in this state.

“I’m certain I also gave orders about that, too,” he said, keeping his tone light but allowing a hint of gentle exasperation to leak through. “How’s your unit doing, Vala?”

“They’re fine. Blooded and rearing for a real fight.”

“Uh huh. And fighting demons non-stop for hours on end, across multiple invasions, wasn’t a real fight?”

Her expression remained unchanged, even as the other Champions exchanged wary looks. Tarako sipped her sake with a curious expression.

“None of us fought a Messenger. You fought two in the same night. Some of you nearly died.” Vala’s eyes locked onto Ciana and Nathan saw the fierce approval in them.

“You don’t want this,” Ciana said, voice almost deathly quiet. The coldness in her eyes surprised even Nathan.

Vala looked away with reddening cheeks. “Maybe not, but… Fucking hell. I’ll just say it, then. I don’t care how important plugging portals and shit is back here. I want to be out there, fighting where it matters. I want you to fucking trust me!” She took a step forward and raised a fist at Nathan for a moment, fury filling her voice and eyes.

Nathan took a deep breath and resisted the urge to rub the bridge of his nose. The mannerism wouldn’t help matters. “I get the feeling you didn’t listen to your orders. Vala, you are coming with us. Same with your entire unit.”

“What? But I was told—”

“To rest. Because I’m going to need you in Soreaux, when we’re likely fighting Falmir’s elite agents or Dominic’s best knights. Do you remember what you’re training your unit to be?”

Vala gulped. Her face paled as she looked down for a moment, before forcing herself to return his gaze. “Knight-killers. When I first chose to become your Champion, you wanted to know how to train soldiers capable of defeating your own knights. This is… It’s happening.”

“Yes. I have an entire army full of knights who can fight demons. I only have a single unit trained exclusively to slay other knights, and you’re leading them.”

Nathan stepped forward and saw Vala flinch as he did so. As such, he stopped.

She bit her lip. “Sorry. It’s reflexive. You’re…”

“Reflexive?” He felt his temper rise, but not at Vala.

“My pa would hit me when he got in a mood. You have his demeanor. Stoic, I mean.” For some reason Vala’s entire body turned red. “Not that I mean… Shit. You’re not really like him, but I just…”

Nathan let himself relax and a laugh escaped him, starting in his belly and rumbling through his entire chest. Everyone stared at him as if he was mad.

Wiping a tear from his eye, he waved off their concern. “Sorry. It’s just that you reminded me of a conversation from a long time ago. Anna once told me I reminded her of her father, and I told her to never say that again. Maybe you should take that advice?”

Vala smiled. “Yeah. I think I will. You mean Archduchess von Clair, right? One of your fiancees?”

He nodded. “Like I said, it was from a long time ago. Our first meeting, actually.”

“Funny.”

“That’s why I laughed.”

Sighing, Vala leaned on her battle-axe again. “I’ll get some sleep then. Once I let my knights know what’s going down, that is. Are we moving around with these fancy new gateways?”

Nathan briefly updated her on their plan so that she wasn’t entirely in the dark, then allowed her to see herself off.

Then he turned to face Reine. At some point, the Twins had appeared behind the spymaster. Tarako barely spared them a glance, although the fox intently watched Fyre as she approached with the dark elves.

“You know, there’s such an easy solution for her,” Maura teased.

“Always available,” Laura said.

“Somehow, I feel this is a darkness best left alone,” Tarako said.

“It is,” Nathan said flatly.

Nurevia’s long ears twitched as she approached. “I’ve heard this offer before. You made it to me back in Straub. Said I could become the Nurevia that Nathan used to know. Hell, I’m pretty sure Sen and Sunstorm have talked about this shit.”

Tarako’s ears twitched but she remained silent.

But it was Fei who spoke up first, “We’re our own persons. Especially Sen and Choe.”

“Yeah, but you can be another person if you don’t like who you are now.” Maura waved her hands in the air. “Or if Nathan doesn’t, really.”

“Or if he’s going to kill you and—” Laura began to say.

“Enough,” Seraph snapped. “Nathan, why do you let the two of them openly sabotage you like this? Especially when you know they’ll stop on command.”

“Because he knows they might want it.” Maura leered at him.

Nathan kept one eye on Nurevia as he answered, as the dark elf seemed to shrink in on herself, “No, it’s because if I order you to stop doing something openly, you’ll find a way to do it subtly. You’re easier to manage this way.”

“Taking the bull by the horns,” Tarako said. “Seems you’re not one for easy solutions.”

“I tried them. Turns out that the easy path comes with interest.”

“Shortcuts often involve paying some price in the future. Cut corners when building a house, and you need to rebuild it properly eventually. Assuming it wasn’t washed away in a flood due to your negligence.”

Nathan wasn’t sure if Tarako understood what the Twins were offering to do. But at least she seemed to hold no overt ill will.

“It’s time to go,” he said. “Reine, prepare the gateway. Tarako, I need you to keep an eye on her when we go through.”

“You’re leaving her behind?” Reine asked, and he could almost see the horror through her mask.

Tarako cackled. “No, silly girl. He’s taking you with him. Did you think he would leave you behind given you’re responsible for moving his armies and are such a tantalizing target for his foes?”

“But—”

“I had planned to leave you here, as you could hole up in my mental fortress,” Nathan said, earning him an odd look from Tarako who didn’t know about his mental world. “But you can only create your gateways between where you’re physically standing and where you’re looking. Did you forget that?”

Reine stared at him for far too long. Then she mumbled, “Sorry. I did.”

“Stick close to Tarako or whoever I assign as your guard. Now that Gareth has Erica as a trigem, Falmir has a powerful assassin. You’re a high priority target. I refuse to lose you or anyone else because you stray too far from your protection.”

Nathan did wonder how he might protect Reine better. Her new ability put her in harm’s way, unless he kept sending his soldiers back and forth to Aleich.

But even then, she’d be forced to stand around outside to direct them. A sitting duck. If she remained by his side, he could easily assign Astra or Tarako to protect her, while keeping the trigem available to fight Messengers.

“I’m ready,” Reine said.

With those words, she summoned the largest gateway so far.

A whirling portal burst into existence in front of the knights, standing dozens of feet wide. An entire platoon could walk through at once.

On the other side stood one of Trafaumh’s fortresses. The very same one that Reine had showed him earlier. Deverese’s one that stood just north of Prophet’s Hope, bereft of visible defenders and likely in the middle of a demonic invasion.

“Time to march,” Nathan ordered. “We have demons to fight.”

- - - - -

Commentary: I considered whether to leave the inquisitor's idol as a normal one, but decided to have it be a beastkin one. Partly because it shows that the Inquisition isn't a monolith. But also because it demonstrates that individual views of Omria can change. Haverman is still very much a zealot, but one in service to Fyre and his perception of his goddess has changed to match her shape (ironically, to an idol with wolf ears, but that's because I wanted a call back to the idol that the maid had in last book).

This is also a scene that I'm considering shifting to after the upcoming Deverese stuff, because it sort of gets stuff going, then halts it again to deal with Vala. There upsides and downsides to this. Dealing with Vala before they leave avoids a confrontation about Nathan leaving her without talking to her (which I know many people will get annoyed about if it happens), but it also slows things down without a great reason beyond that.