Inside, Victor sat at a table, a map of Veldaren unrolled before him. Sef sat beside him, pointing at various districts and muttering. Upon Antonil’s entrance, they both stood.
“Forgive my intrusion,” Antonil said. “I’m sure you’ve heard the talk of the day.”
“We have,” said Victor.
“I hate to do this, but my guards will not be enough. I don’t know what coin I can guarantee, but…”
“Save your words,” Victor said, sitting back down at the table. “My men will be out there, and I with them. We’ll do everything we can to save this city. You won’t be doing this alone.”
“Thank you,” Antonil said, feeling a brief glimmer of hope. Between the Eschaton, the city guard, and now Victor’s men, they just might endure. “I am relieved to hear it.”
“You shouldn’t have doubted in the first place,” Victor said. “Even if you never asked, I’d still be out there. You should know that by now, Antonil. I’m here for you. For all of the city. By my life or death, we will see brighter days.”
Antonil bowed low, convinced of the man’s sincerity and honored by it.
“The Watcher is alive,” he said before leaving. “We only need to buy him time.”
“That’s good,” Victor said. “I feared his death would one day tear down everything, but I thought it many years in the distance. Shame on him for giving us such a scare. I’ll have harsh words for him the next time we meet. I daresay I might even yell and call him selfish for nearly dying on us so early.”
The lord grinned, and Antonil grinned back.
“Protect the peace,” he said.
“You, as well.”
Antonil left, and, finally ready, he went to the castle to endure his King’s frightened rants and calls to action.
Tarlak adjusted his hat, smoothed out his robes, and made sure his bag of spell components was fully stocked in case he needed some of his trickier spells. Taking in a deep breath, he let it out, and then stepped into Haern’s room. Delysia still sat at the edge of his bed, her red hair a rumpled mess. She saw him, straightened up.
“Are you leaving?” she asked.
“Sun’s almost set. The party should start soon enough.”
His sister nodded.
“I’ll get ready,” she said.
Tarlak took another deep breath. This was the conversation he’d been dreading.
“You’re not going,” he said.
Delysia’s eyes narrowed, and he saw her stubborn streak surfacing.
“I am not afraid,” she said. “Nor am I helpless. You need all the help you can get tonight, and you know it. I will not sit idly by while you risk your lives.”
“That’s not it,” Tarlak said, sitting down at the edge of Haern’s bed. He gestured to Haern, who still slept. “You’re needed here. If you get hurt, or captured, then his recovery will only take longer. Not sure how this happened, but Haern’s the most important man in the city right now. We’ve got to get him up and stabbing people with the pointy end of those sabers.”
He pulled off his hat, ran a hand through his hair.
“Besides, sis, I’m already in over my head. Haern’s the one who knows these people, who their leaders are, what they’ll do. I just plan on roasting anyone who looks at me funny, and praying to Ashhur that I got a bad guy.”
Delysia shifted so she sat beside him, and he wrapped his arm about her.
“I’m tired of this room,” she said, letting out a tired laugh.
“I know. You don’t look too good, either.”
She elbowed him, and he mussed her hair in return. Their cheer was forced, and it died quickly. Tarlak looked to Haern, and he felt the weight of the night pressing on him.
“I think he’ll wake soon,” he said. “Someone should be here when he does, and I think he’ll be happiest to see you. Let him know what’s happening. He’ll try to be stupid and leave the tower before he’s ready, so don’t let him sway you with his masculine charms.”
Delysia kissed his cheek.
“I’ll be praying for you,” she said.
“Thanks. I’ll need the help. And don’t you worry. Me and Brug’ll be back by dawn.”
He waved goodbye, then climbed down the stairs to where Brug waited. The man was trying to adjust his platemail, and grumbling all the while.
“Be hard to sneak up on them with you making a ruckus,” Tarlak said, earning him a glare.
“You see this armor? It’s perfect. Made it myself. No dagger’s slipping between these creases. Rather be last to the fight, and live, than first and dead.”
“How much all that weighs, there won’t be a fight left by the time you arrive anywhere.”
Brug shrugged.
“I’ll still be alive.”
Tarlak chuckled. Couldn’t argue with that.
“You ready?”
Brug gave his breastplate one more hard twist, then readied his punch daggers.
“Lead the way, magey, or are we taking a portal?”
“We’re walking,” Tarlak said. “Expect a long night ahead of us, and need to conserve every shred of energy I have.”
Brug grunted.
“Del not coming?”
“She’s staying with Haern.”
“So just you and me against the world, eh?” Brug asked, a cocky grin spreading across his face.
Tarlak nodded.
“Looks like I’ll have to rely on you to keep them off me. Must say, Brug, I think I miss Haern already.”
14
Haern felt the darkness peeling away into layers of dreams that came and went. Within were friends and foes, even those long dead. As the dreams faded, he realized he slumbered, and a pain in his head suddenly roared to life. Slowly he opened his eyes, almost regretting the return. His skull throbbed, and the pain in his side was frightening in its strength. He tried to remember where he was, what he was doing. He was on a rooftop, hiding from his unknown assailant. No, there weren’t any stars, so where…
“Haern?”
He knew that voice. Something soft and warm took his hand, and he looked down. Delysia’s hand. It was her face he saw next, tears in her eyes.
“Del,” he said, and despite his pain, his exhaustion, he smiled. “You found me.”
“My brother did, to be fair. How do you feel?”
“Like I was run through by a bull. Do you have any water?”
A moment later she handed him a glass. He tried to sit up, but the movement was unbearable. Carefully he lay back down and sipped the cold water. It felt divine on his parched throat.
“How long?” he asked, setting it aside.
“Almost a full day. You lost a lot of blood, as well as took a vicious hit to your head.”
“Yeah,” Haern said, the attack replaying over and over in his mind. “I remember that. Felt like an ox kicked me. Could hardly see straight afterward. Where’s Tarlak?”
He saw a shadow cross over her face.
“Don’t worry about that right now. You need to rest.”
