Chapter 26

Internally I cursed and screamed defiance, as the curved blade of my enemy’s sword raised above my head. I was groggy and weak, and all I could think was that I had missed an enemy sorcerer. Only an incredibly powerful soul sorcerer could have drained me so quickly and completely. I would die with a river steel blade in my skull pinned ignominiously beneath a thrashing body. And Myta would follow me soon after, drained of her own mana, shackled to my spirit’s corpse.

If I’d had any mana left, I might have become a true spirit, kept her alive a bit longer at least. That might not have been a bad afterlife. I could see myself, standing beside her, guiding and protecting her as a bound wraith. Neither of us would be alone again at least.

My disjointed thoughts, and impending ****, were interrupted by the sound of rending metal. My opponent spun away, and though I couldn’t see what was happening, the area became as bright as day, golden sunlight somehow kissing the ground around me. My would-be executioner stumbled backward, tripping over the body atop me, which had finally stilled. His head disappeared a moment later, utterly consumed by a ray of golden fire.

My mind finally caught up with my senses, as my glorious vas tossed aside the corpses that were pinning me down. Her presence took the form of metallic golden flames, a near perfect fusion of our aspects. Her righteous fury dimmed as she checked me over, seeing that I was unharmed. I could feel that she was on the edge of an emotional cliff, about to tumble over.

“No time for that,” I told her firmly. “Go to the road and aid the fight. We’ll have time after the battle is done.” I drew a bit of mana from her, though not too much, and touched the silver marking that blazed on her neck. Pushing away her turmoil, she nodded resolutely, charging off to finish the battle. Her focused wrath returned, but I didn’t have it in me to pity those soon-to-be corpses. These men had almost taken her from me, and I would neither forget nor forgive.

The battle was over by the time I made my way up to help the wounded. I had hoped some would flee, perhaps make it easier to trace their camp. Instead they died to the last man. Either they were fanatics, or more terrified of their superiors than they were of ****. The sorcerer Ket had hunted proved no more useful, panicking so thoroughly that he became lost in the woods. She finally killed him, after an hour’s chase. The sorcerer did allow us to finally confirm our enemy, however.

“There are other people who use those brands,” Tarun said, looking at the forearms of the mangled mess the spirit had returned to us. She’d dragged it into camp like a proud housecat with a dead rat. We’d assembled to examine the body, several hours after the attack.

“They are very rare in this region however, almost no one but the Pure use them anymore.” I replied. “Could we take this to the capital now? Would this be enough for Ramana to intervene?”

“Probably,” the captain admitted. “The king knows as well as anyone how much the Pure hate him, but we have a bigger problem.

“You killed a score of men when your caravan was attacked. There’s another two score, and a sorcerer here. But we’ve still seen no sign of the demon you expected. If the Pure are making a real push here, then they have enough men in the region to hold Bani. And likely agents within the city, to let them inside the gates. If we move to the capital now, I promise you it will trigger an immediate ****. They’ve invested too much in these plans to back down now.”

“Then what is to stop them from attacking immediately anyway?” Myta asked. “We’ve disrupted their plan already. Their last real chance for subtlety ended with our survival.”

“Nothing,” Tarun growled. “But in this moment we have a chance to preserve the city. If we run to Ramana, it will all be over before there’s any chance to respond.”

“So what can we actually do here?” I asked. “If avoiding the city leads to a bloodbath, we need to warn Bani instead. Will they listen to us? You were drummed out Tarun, will the corpse be enough to convince them?”

“Ramana keeps a minister in each city, to keep the governors honest. If I can convince the minister, then Bani’kari will be **** to move. But, we have another opportunity here.” He cast Myta a prompting glance, one I myself had used with my own students.

“A **** large enough to hold Bani… would be hundreds of men.” She answered his glance after a few moments. “They can’t all be in the woods here, or the city would know about them. They might be in ships nearby, or somewhere isolated enough to hide. If we can tie up their command, we may be able to delay their attack for awhile. Long enough to shore up defenses, or call for aid.”

“Precisely.” The captain nodded. “Unfortunately we can expect the local group to have their most elite fighters. None of my men are prepared to face Pure monks.” He eyed us meaningfully.

Myta’s eyes blazed, literally. “No, absolutely not. Last night was already far… “

“Myta.” My stern tone caused her to cut off abruptly, nearly **** on her words. I looked back at Tarun. “I will know where the attackers came from soon, and what we are dealing with there. If it is not a suicidal mission, we will engage the camp. Can I count on some of your men there?”

“Of course, Esur’uk. After Mytan’s showing last night, I couldn’t keep them away if I wanted to. I suspect some, if not all of the caravan guards feel the same.” I held in a sigh at the honorific he gave me. My facade of simple healer, thin as it had been, was completely shattered by the four uninjured bodies I’d left in my wake.

“We have a little time, at least. Which is important, as Myta and I need to recover. I’ll let you know when we are prepared to leave.” I turned on my heel, and headed to our room, Myta trailing behind. Her emotions were a swirling mess of worry and shame, and I needed to pull her out of them, quickly.

“Master, I’m sorry! I just…” my vas was speaking even before the door to our room closed, but I cut her off again with a raised hand.

“I’m not angry, my flame. I know that you are worried for my safety. That you wish to protect me. Trust me, I have no desire to put our lives at undue risk. But, I have other goals and needs, Myta. And I will not be driven away from them, not even for your sake. Do you understand?”

She was quiet for a time, contemplating my words.

“Master, have you not been putting aside your own goals to preserve your life and freedom for some time?” Myta wasn’t angry, or upset, but she was feeling uncertain.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I can tell that you love teaching me, I feel the depth of your knowledge in regard to sorcery and the spirit. But you haven’t put in even a little effort into improving your own, you haven’t even thought about it, as far as I can see. You enjoy healing people, helping people, but it isn’t your love. So what is it about this fight, this struggle, that makes it worth your life?”

“Our lives.” I muttered, thrown by her question.

“Master?”

“Worth our lives. If I die, the bond will likely drain you spirit. Killing you in short order, unless it’s transferred to another.” Myta seemed to relax at my comment, which was the opposite of what I’d have expected. I was too disturbed to pay it much mind, however. Her words had struck me like a hammer to a bell, and my thoughts were still ringing. For decades I’d wandered Ramana now, eking out a living doing work I was vastly overqualified for. She was right, when was the last time I’d learned something new, or even attempted to advance my spirit or skills? I was living vicariously through my vas right now, taking my satisfaction in seeing her advance, so why was I doing this?

I could say I was following Kubek’s demand, but that was an excuse. The god had only required that I discover the source of the contagion. I’d done that already, the culpability of the Pure was clear, and Ket was hunting their precise location right now. The favor he’d promised for disrupting the contagion would just be a bonus, not worth our lives. I could just move on, if I chose to. Escape the Pure, and their plots, yet again.

“I’m tired of running.” I hadn’t thought the words before I said them, but I felt their truth on my lips. “The Pure betrayed me, betrayed you, and now I have a chance to take from them. Not just vengeance, but restitution. We can hurt them, while also claiming the means to advance ourselves.”

I stopped, and faced Myta, meeting her gaze evenly. My hand came up, and I’d meant to cup her chin, but instead found myself resting my fingers on her neck. Her collar marking had grown more pronounced, more detailed and vivid with each advancement of her spirit. Now it looked like silver wires on her skin, a rippled pattern that shifted moment to moment like light playing through flowing silver water. It was beautiful, and mine.

“Then I will support you master, and we will tear apart their plans.” She pressed her neck into my hand, and I felt her swallow.

“Good. I will need your support, and your judgment. I meant what I said to Tarun. I will not throw away our lives, but we will bleed them. I’m sure of it.”