Bastial Sentinels (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 5) (40 page)

“Raymess could’ve gone anywhere after winning the battle at Lake Mercy.”

“I have plenty of men and women all over the continent with eyes and ears. We’ll find him.”

Fatholl’s grand declaration reminded Jek of a question he’d forgotten. After being forced out of the palace, he, Micah, and the Takary women had stayed at the Lage mansion. Heather claimed Fatholl had visited her father-in-law before Danvell died. “What’s Namlin Lage’s involvement in all this?”

“Money,” Fatholl replied.

“What about it?”

Fatholl’s arrogant smile made Jek feel like a child once again. “Jek, in times of war, if someone says money is the reason for something, that’s the most straightforward explanation possible. You can’t think everyone working for me is doing so for free. Not only do I control a portion of the four territories here in the east, each army in Chanren has agreed to fight—so long as they’re paid. No matter what anyone tells you, money can buy allegiance. I needed men and women, thus I needed money. Namlin was escorted to Chanren by Elves to help us recruit.”

“What is the Lage family getting in return?”

“They’ll get the north once it’s clear of desmarls. Not every Elf wants to go to Ovira, and many Humans who’ve moved out of their homes and joined us have done so with the desire to create a new territory far from here, where they can live without fear of war. The Lage family will govern the new territory as well as fund its creation.”

A surge of worries came to mind, but just as Jek opened his mouth to voice them, Fatholl gestured for him to calm himself.

“There is much more that I don’t have time to get into,” Fatholl said. “But there’s no reason to fear the Lage family will build an army to take over Goldram, if that’s your concern. Thousands of powerful psychics will prevent that from ever happening.” Fatholl stood. “If you wish to reach Facian before supper, you should leave now. Use the techniques we discussed when speaking with Vala. I’ll send a messenger by tomorrow evening with news of Raymess’ whereabouts. Depending on where he is, I can offer escorts for the Takary women. Are you ready?”

“Eager.” Although Jek knew he should be focused on what he would say to convince them to go against Raymess, he was more worried about how Lisanda would react when he told her that he didn’t think they should get married anytime soon.

Chapter 38:

JEK

Riding alone through the deserted southern side of The Nest, Jek felt like he was part of neither army now. Both Raymess and Fatholl were allies, yet both were enemies.

By the time he came to the gap in the southern wall, he’d already forgotten what he was supposed to say to Vala. How would he convince her, a queen of an army in the middle of war, to join him where he stood between factions?

As hard as he tried to focus, the image of Lisanda’s overly expressive eyes glistening with tears distracted him. It would be her inevitable expression after he delivered not only the news of her brother being an enemy, but Jek’s other concerns as well. He was going to tell her all the worries he’d been refraining from sharing. Part of him thought it was a bad idea, but he might not have a better chance. If everything worked out with Fatholl’s plan, Jek would be fighting the desmarls possibly for months without seeing her. He didn’t want to go that long without resolving anything between them.

Arriving at Sannil’s house, he dismounted and took a deep breath. Then he knocked.

“Kalli!” Sannil yelled.

“I heard!” she yelled back.

For the moment, Jek’s concerns drained out of him as his lips broke into a smile. Kalli covered her gasping mouth just after opening the door.

“Hello,” Jek said with feigned indifference. “Don’t cry.”

“I wasn’t going to, you horse’s ass!”

They laughed and embraced each other.

“Sannil, it’s Jek!” Kalli screamed in his ear as they embraced, scaring his horse. She calmly approached the animal and soothed him with her voice and touch. “I’ll take him to the stables.”

Sannil appeared in the doorway. He opened his arms. “You don’t look so bad. We heard there was hardly anything to eat where you were. Was this true?”

“It was,” Jek said as they hugged. “I’m glad to be back, at least for now.”

“No—you’re leaving again?”

“Probably by tomorrow evening. There’s a lot I need to explain, but first, is—?”

“They’re at the Dancing Mug,” Sannil interrupted.

“Even Vala?” The Dancing Mug was a bar with a stage for people to perform. Sometimes the crowd got rowdy, from what Kalli had told Jek. It didn’t seem like somewhere a queen would want to be. In fact, Jek could imagine only Jessend enjoying her time there. Lisanda didn’t like crowds, especially drunken ones.

“All three of them. Kalli took the twins there yesterday. When their presence became known, the crowd chanted for them to go on stage and sing. They only managed to stop the chanting with the promise that they would be back today to sing. Vala decided to go with them.”

“Is it safe?” Jek asked.

Sannil tossed his hand. “Everyone here loves having royalty around, even with all that’s happened.” He dipped his chin. “There’ve been many men coming by with gifts. It seems not everyone is aware that Lisanda is with you. Or they don’t care.”

“Has she accepted any of them?”

“No, but Jessend certainly has. She’s got about…oh, how many is it now? Kalli! Where are you?”

“Here! I was just putting Jek’s horse in the stable.” She came around the side of the house.

“How many men are fighting over Jessend now?”

“Twelve.”

Jek wasn’t surprised. “Does she favor any of them?”

“I think all of them,” Kalli said.

Now Jek was surprised. “All of them?”

“There would be about fifty if she wasn’t so candid about the whole thing to each of them,” Kalli said. “Scared the rest off.”

Jek took the pouch from his pocket. He tried to hold it in such a way that didn’t scream how important it was to him. “I have some seeds that need to be planted.”

Kalli grabbed the pouch. He hated how she was always grabbing things. He almost snatched it back and scolded her, but he refrained. She took a seed and held it in front of her eyes. “Did you gather these seeds in the forest around Lake Mercy?”

“No. They were given to me.” He was unsure why he was having such difficulty telling them it could be the cure to his darkness. But when he thought of their reaction, the reason came to him. They would explode with excitement, and he was in no mood for it. Sannil and Kalli didn’t know what he’d been through. They didn’t know what was still to come.

“Who gave them to you?” Kalli asked.

“A friend you don’t know.”

“Are you really going to just hand me these seeds and wait for me to ask every question? What will grow? How much water do they need? How big will they get? Come on, Jek.”

“Don’t plant all of them at once, just a few in a pot by the window. Water enough to keep the soil moist.” Jek stopped to make sure Sannil was paying attention.

His father looked back with curiosity. “Is there something special about the seeds?”

“Once the plant starts growing, it needs Sartious Energy. I’m not sure exactly how much, but my friend said he doesn’t think it can have too much SE. So if I’m not around when it sprouts, you’ll need to give it lots of SE.”

His family looked at him skeptically. “I’ve never heard of a plant that needs SE,” Sannil said. “What’s it called?”

“Evesal. It only grows in Ovira, so take good care of it.” Jek held out his hand. “I’ll hold the extra seeds.”

Confused, Kalli handed the pouch back to him. Both she and Sannil seemed to be waiting for Jek to say something.

“Thank you,” he said. “I need to speak with Lisanda and her family.”

“Make sure you’re all back before dark,” Sannil said. “It’s going to be difficult to figure out where everyone’s sleeping now that you’re here.”

On Jek’s way to the Dancing Mug, he tried to figure out why he was angry. If he was nervous, he would’ve understood why. But he was downright mad as he thought of the Takary women singing and dancing.

That was just it. They were singing and dancing while he’d been starving and fighting. This war affected them even more than it did him, so how could they be enjoying themselves?

As he neared the tavern, he could hear Lisanda’s voice. Men and women filled the grand room to capacity. Jek squeezed through to get to the front.

Jessend joined Lisanda in song. Both had deep voices for young women, especially for their small stature. A man on a six-stringed lute accompanied them as they crooned through the chorus of
Wobble Neck Nick
, a terribly annoying song of puns and tongue-knots with absolutely no substance. It was what Jek thought of as a bragging song, learned for no other purpose but to earn cheap applause.

Of course, everyone in the Dancing Mug was swaying along with the princesses and laughing with delight. When Lisanda and Jessend got through the chorus flawlessly, the audience whistled and then quickly quieted to hear the next part.

Lisanda’s white teeth were practically glowing with her smile. She found Jek with her gaze and waved him toward the stage as she sang.

He was already as close as he could get without stepping up there.
Is that what she wants?

Lisanda kept waving. Others near Jek started shoving him so he bumped against the stage.

“Go!”

“The Princess is inviting you on stage!”

“You’re lucky!”

Lisanda waved at him more urgently.

The men near him were confused about why he was resisting. He wondered how it was possible that no one seemed to know the world might end soon. He thrashed against the people pushing him until enough space was cleared. Then he turned around and pushed, squeezing through the crowd, shouldering everyone out of his way so he could leave.

Even out the door, he didn’t stop walking away. He didn’t know where he was going, but he couldn’t stand being there any longer. He was furious.

He heard someone run up behind him. He didn’t turn to look.

“Jek!” It was Lisanda. “Jek, stop.”

He spun around. “How can you be singing and dancing at a time like this? Don’t you know what’s going on?”

The extravagance of her dress made him even angrier. Although it was beautiful, he couldn’t appreciate it. All he could think about was that it was new and expensive.

She looked puzzled as she took her final steps toward him. “I don’t understand.”

“Don’t you mourn for your father?” Jek asked rhetorically, maliciously.

Her hands flew to her hips. “I’m sorry that I’m not curled up on a bed crying every hour of the day!” she yelled. Behind her, Jek could see people staring. “I thought you would want me to be happy if I could. It’s not easy, Jek, because I do know what’s going on. I can’t forget even when I want to…even when I’m singing in front of all those people. In the background, I don’t hear music. I hear nothing but my own miserable thoughts and worries. My father, this war, you—”

“Then you practically force me to get up there and sing with you after everything I’ve been through,” Jek interrupted. He wasn’t about to let her use missing him as an excuse. He’d seen her face. She’d been perfectly content.

“How am I supposed to know what you’ve been through? You’re clean and look well-fed. You’ve always liked singing. If it seemed like I was forcing you, that’s only because I thought you would thank me after a little encouragement.”

“You’re completely wrong. And look at what you’re wearing! You’re wasting money on new clothes even now, at a time like this.”

“I wanted to look nice for you!” she screamed.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” he screamed back. “No matter what you wear, you’re always the most beautiful woman”—his tone softened—“I’ve ever seen.”

They both let out a breath.

“I’m sorry,” Jek said.

She launched herself at him and squeezed so tightly it would’ve hurt if he could’ve felt pain in that moment. “I missed you so much,” she said.

“And I’m glad you’ve been able to enjoy yourself, at least some. These next months are going to be especially rough for both of us.”

“Months?” she squeaked.

“Yes, and we don’t have much time. Can you help me retrieve your mother and sister from the tavern? There’s a lot we need to discuss.”

Chapter 39:

JEK

They squeezed their chairs around a new table Vala had bought for Sannil’s kitchen. It was made of thick wood painted black, sturdy enough to stop any fireball Jek could’ve cast. It was a waste of money and wood, and it wasn’t the only new furniture. Wherever Jek looked, he found something he didn’t recognize.

“Thank you,” Lisanda said when Kalli served their food.

“Thank you,” everyone else repeated.

“You’re welcome,” Kalli said.

In the silence that followed, Jek could tell that they were waiting for him to speak.