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Action, adventure, a little romance and a twist. What more could you want? R&R Please! |
| John woke with a start, his hands reaching for his weapons. He was naked. Sluggishly he looked around the darken room. It took him a moment to identify the waving walls as tent walls. The howl of the wind whined like a banshee just beyond the thin fabric. The events leading up to John’s blackout came back to him slowly, as if emerging from a fog. Jumbled, he painstakingly pieced together everything until he had his mind back in order. Closing his eyes, he searched for that new power he had embraced but didn’t sense it. John sighed in relief. He didn’t want to think about what he had done, or how many people he had killed. A murmur of voices came from the tent’s entrance and John concentrated his hearing on it. Moments later, Mia’s voice clearly came to him. “I will let him know you came. Now please leave and give him some peace.” “Yes, my Lady.” The man’s voice itched John’s mind with familiarity. One of the Caprian Kings? John reached down and felt for his mindlink but only felt his chest. “Mh,” he tried saying her name. His throat felt as if it were on fire. “Mi-ah,” he rasped again. The tent flap pulled back and Mia walked in. She smiled at him but John saw a hint of stress. “Wa--er.” She quickly went to his bedside and pulled out a cup of cool water from underneath his cot. Pushing it up to his lips, John sucked it down. “Easy, Master. Easy. You are dehydrated.” When she pulled away the half emptied cup, John wetted his lips. “How long?” “You’ve been out two days straight.” “Status.” She patted his face and shook her head. “Rest.” When he tried to get up, she pushed him down with little effort. He was weaker than he had thought. “Here, take this. It will help you.” John accepted one of the rice cakes she had given him before. When he raised a questioning eyebrow at her, she said, “It’s called a powercake. Our friends make them. They help in the healing process. The rice cakes have a high amount of energy. Please, eat.” When he chewed one down, he downed the rest of the water before closing his eyes. “He awoke and you didn’t tell me?” John heard Priscilla say. He couldn’t say how long he’d been out but he knew he was on the verge of falling back asleep. “Master needs his rest. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave, Head Mistress.” Priscilla made as if to argue with her but Mia prevailed. John drifted back into blissful dreamless sleep. John awoke to the presence of a lot of people. Opening an eye, he saw Mia, Nina, Waylon, Dylon, Lady Tyrn, General Briar, Weryn, Donnie, and… San was it? “I think I need to get a bigger tent,” he grumbled. “How long have you been staring at me? It’s disturbing you know.” Lady Tyrn walked over to his bed and knelt down, smiling. “We couldn’t attract too much attention. Officially, you don’t exist in the Empire.” “Wonderful. What happened?” She pursed her lips and shrugged. “The Dayton Clan arrived the night of the Summit. After--“ “How many showed?” John rasped, cutting her off. Glowering, she said, “All of them.” “All?” Smiling sweetly she said, “Yes, now stop interrupting me. You may be my cousin but I can still toss you in the lake if I want to.” John smiled weakly and gave her an apologetic nod. Giving him her own smirk, she said, “The Clan you did the disappearing act to, Fugia I think it was, their Chief showed up along with the Pusien Clan’s Chief. We continued the Summit the following morning. Priscilla took on the position of Head Mistress. The topic of discussion was Tekal, of course. After some debating, the new Head Mistress made a remarkable argument. She swayed everyone into the idea that Slayers and Hunters needed a home, ala Tekal. Without it, there would be no laws or punishment to those who abused their power. When everyone finally agreed, she purposed a formation of the Council of Tekal. Every land would get three representatives. Tekal would act as the Peacekeeper between all the lands, making sure no war would break out. Because of your stunt, every one of those old geezers is scared witless of Tekal.” Lady Tyrn paused as if in thought. She picked up the cup of water that he had used and took a sip of it. Placing the cup back down, she continued on excitedly. “Apparently the northern lands still had small squeamishness between each other. Land disputes, of all things. Priscilla purposed that we set the standard here, today. If anyone went against the agreement, the Council of Tekal would act upon it. When I told them that the Empire would be lifting its embargo to the north--well, let’s just say we are on day four of negotiations. I think we are close to finalizing the treaty now.” “Treaty?” John’s mind tried to cope with everything he had just heard. “Yes. The Empire is going into a treaty with northerners for the first time. It will protect us in a sense. I will say this. Because of you, I believe the Empire is getting the better bargain. For that, I am very grateful.” “Oh?” “Yes. Your theatrics impressed the others, as well as your--politics.” “What of the Kalians?” She gave a ruthful smile. “Your threat to take action against them if they didn’t stay put wasn’t enough, I’m afraid. But, after witnessing the mysterious death of hundreds of men, they decided it wasn’t worth their lives to charge the Summit. Amazingly enough, the other camps had each sent out a scout to look after all the other camps. When they saw Kalian’s camp on the move, all three camps blockaded the Kalians from retreat.” “Trust them not trust each other,” John said with a grin. Lady Tyrn patted his hand and stood. “Thank you, John. I couldn’t have handled it any better.” He shrugged uncomfortably, embarrassed by the woman’s praise. “I’ll come back later to check up on you. Rest now.” She turned and left. Briar stood up as she passed him and he waved to John before following her out. Nina, Waylon and Dylon came up to him next, and squatted down in front of him just as Lady Tyrn had. The sudden need to get out of his sickbed took over him but, when he tried to move, Dylon pushed him back down. “Doctor said not to move for a while.” John gave him a growl. “Oh quite you,” Nina said fondly. “We just wanted to let you know Cedrick is okay. He is recovering and should be up and about by tomorrow.” “Have you met your father-in-law yet?” John asked Waylon. “Yeah…” Waylon glared at Nina. “Scared me witless but I’ll tell you that story another day. Lady Tyrn told us not to worry about the laws concerning marrying foreigners. It looks like I’m going to be a chained man.” John smiled happily for his friend and they traded grips. “Say hi to Cedrick for me.” “Sure, sure. Have to go meet my new brothers-in-laws. Something about you talking me up when you were visiting.” “Me?” John asked with mock sincerity. Dylon slugged him in the arm, “Don’t be a smart ass. That’s my job.” John grumbled wordlessly. Dylon grinned before pointing his thumb at Waylon and Nina. “I’m ditching these two love birds. I promised Guinavev that I’d be back before winter’s zenith. Priscilla told me you’ve graduated to Slayer so come see us lowly Devotees when you get the time okay?” “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, and hey.” John lowered his voice a notch. His three friends inched a little closer to him. “The Slayer test is easy.” Nina rolled her eyes but her other two companions laughed heartily. Saying their goodbyes, they left. Weryn, Donnie and San both saluted him but it was Mia who spoke first. “Since you are finally awake, we thought you’d want an update.” “Oh? On what?” “Our men, of course. Both Akara and Will are back up and running. Donnie’s team suffered from some minor scratches but nothing a powercake couldn’t cure. As for the tensions between the Dayton Clan and the Pusien Clan, it has mostly disappeared with Fugia’s betrayal now open. The Fugia’s Chief claimed he had nothing to do with it but most of us don’t believe it. We are in negotiations with Priscilla about coming back to Tekal. A lot of problems are going to arise. The Head Mistress wishes to know if you will be coming back.” “I--don’t know. Did you talk to your father?” “About?” John looked at the three men standing at attention and they each averted their eyes. After an uncomfortable silence, the three Hunters excused themselves and were out the tent before John could turn back to Mia. The hint of stress he had seen in her earlier was more than just minor. “What is it?” Ignoring him, she repeated, “About what?” “You know damn well what I’m talking about.” “No, I don’t think I do,” she said defiantly. “At times I think I know you, and then--Fine. What did I do wrong?” “You did nothing wrong.” Her eyes said otherwise. “Bloody hell woman, how can I please you? I like you.” “But not love.” Oh… OH. “Is that what this is about?” She glared at his forehead and then stormed out. “I’ll take that as a yes,” John said to the empty room. “Save the world and kill your love life. Bloody A, John. Bloody, A.” He laughed bitterly and pulled back his covers. Looking around the tent for his boots and coat, he said, “Screw the doc. If I’m going to be an asshole today, I’m not going to half-ass it.” John found that his tent was in the middle of a sea of brown tents. It took him a moment to realize he wasn’t in one of the four camps but in a newly constructed one. Glowing green men walked the streets like fireflies and an occasional tent glowed with energy when a sound ward was constructed. It was almost enough to hurt his eyes. The camp had been set up near the pavilion, surrounding it protectively. The grounds were bustling with activity and the tension John had felt upon first arriving was all but gone. Looking around him, he didn’t find anyone he recognized. Not even Mia. What he was going to do with her, he did not know. He didn’t need Randy’s philosophy to tell him he was in the wrong, he already knew it. But the death of his mentor still pained him and it wasn’t something he could ignore. Trying to forget his troubles, John aimlessly started to walk among the masses. After an hour of his leisure walk, John had made a full circle of the camp and was almost back at his tent. Upon reaching his humble home, he spotted an old friend. Cedrick, dressed in a heavy cloak and furs, towered over everyone near him. The massing crowds gave way to the giant as the man beelined it to John’s tent. Upon seeing John, he motioned with his eyes to the tent in between them. Cedrick went in first followed by John. The moment John was in, a sound ward was up. This can’t be good. Cedrick checked the tent flap as if to check for shadows. “Someone tailing you? And shouldn’t you be in bed?” The big man shrugged. “I could say the same for you. And…possibly. I thought you should know. I didn’t break.” “You didn’t--.” John blinked. Cedrick took one look at John and nodded. “Aye, Nina told me what happened at the Estates. She has been playing both sides from the beginning. Win-win situation.” He shook his head slowly. “No, King Hugar was the traitor.” The Ghourdian shook his head slowly. “As much as it pains me to say this, Lady Tyrn is behind all of this. I wouldn’t be surprised if those two Ghourdian Lords were in on it as well. Hell, probably even one of the Caprian Kings while we are at it.” “Have you told anyone of this?” “No.” “Keep it that way.” Cedrick frowned. “You are going to let them get away with this?” John’s mind had started going through all the possibilities before he realized it. “It’s Tekal all over again. We don’t have hard proof, just that there was a leak. Nothing we can prove to this Tekal Council, assuming they even have power. No, Lady Tyrn has the upper hand on this one and I’d bet you my life that the people on the Council are in her pocket. I know for certain that the newly appointed Head Mistress is, at least.” “Priscilla?” he asked frowning. “A growing suspicion and right now it makes too much sense. I--I think I’m going dark like I meant to.” Cedrick immediately started shaking his head. “Why? We can fight this. Damnit, John. We took the last Head Mistress down. We can do it again.” John grabbed the few things he would need for a small traveling pack. “Because if she even suspects that I know, you and all the others are dead. I have to go dark, Cedrick. The bitch is nothing like the Head Mistress. One bad guy got beaten by a bigger and smarter bad guy. Besides, system is too corrupt--too many players this time.” “So we are just going to run? Is that it?” His friend was getting angry. John pulled out a parchment and pen. In his blocky handwriting, he wrote out a quick letter to Priscilla informing her he was leaving Tekal and that he was releasing Mia from his services. Short and to the point. “Not ‘we’, me.” “Why?” Laughing bitterly, John shrugged. “I don’t know. I just know I don’t belong here. Too many people want me and now that I have killed half the Fugia Clan… I can’t work for Tekal or the Empire. I’d rather be on my own. You all have your plans. Just leave it at that.” “What about Mia? And Nina?” “Mia and I aren’t on speaking terms right now. As--As much as I love her, she’d be better off without me. And Nina? She is a flaming big girl, Cedrick… Listen, just promise me you won’t fight this or tell any of the others.” The large man cursed under his breath. John went back to his packing and when he had the last of his things in his traveling packed, Cedrick said, “You remember were that yellow rose garden was?” John sighed in relief. “Aye, one of my first stops. I will say hi for you.” “Don’t get your scrawny ass killed or Nina will have my head.” “Take care of everyone.” Cedrick held his hand out to him and John took it. “And remember. You didn’t see me.” The big man waved his hand. “Aye, blind as a bat. Now go before I regret it and tie you down.” |
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