Chapter Ninety-Seven

Old and New

Michael lay on a bed passed out with two marks tattooed on his right hand and an Arcane Cherry’s worth of magic flowing through his battered body.

Klaryah was in a bed next to him, nursing the rather large bruise under her eye as Lillian stepped over to the bed on Michael’s left, where Jack sat, gingerly touching the colouring on his temple.

Sitting on the foot of Michael’s bed was Oliver, with Sarah, James, Nichole, and Aroha all gathered around, casting gentle looks to the swordsman, though he was too preoccupied with the bed-ridden Michael to notice. Rose rested her head on Jack’s shoulder.

James spent much of his time glaring a hole through Klaryah and fretting over Michael’s now-magically-sealed wounds, waiting patiently for him to wake up as dawn lit the valley.

The crunching of the frosted grass introduced Karmine, Lain, and Archie, and before long, Sidney joined Jack’s other side, clapping him on the back.

In Jack’s hand was a single sheet of parchment, though it seemed to weigh on him like a bar of iron. “Thank you all for being here. In light of obvious events, I figured we should have a War Council, and discuss the fort’s preparedness.”

Karmine looked over the number of them and remarked, “Short a few, aren’t we?”

“Aye, but Flinn and Marken are supervising the ballista maintenance and taking stock of provisions. And I couldn’t give the smallest shit about Amekot’s cronies. If I wanted more noise, I’d go into town and buy donkeys. Everyone, I trust you to relay the important bits to your departments.”

No one raised objection and Jack sat up a little straighter.

“Nichole, you were overseeing the outer-enchantment defences, right?”

Nichole wore heavy bags under her eyes and combed back her hair as she said, “Yes. They’re... adequate. We have a thick, multi-tiered row of magical snares running across the valley in front of the moat. Once a Creation steps foot in it, they’ll ignite or freeze or explode or ensnare, or something to that effect. We managed to lay around a thousand enchantments before we were all gathered for the headcount.”

Jack rubbed his unshaven face and nodded, giving a small smile. “Let your team rest until mid-Brimming and then get back at it please. The enchantments will destroy them once, but Nikereus’ forces will still reform so long as we don’t have the Immortal Flame engrained.”

“I’ve got my people on rotating shifts, so another team is already out there.”

Jack felt a rush of relief and thanked her warmly in Sign.

Aroha leant forward and gestured to the note in his grip. “Speaking of numbers... is that what I think it is?”

Jack looked at it again, as though he’d hoped he’d been mistaken for the tenth time. “Yes.”

Rose turned quietly to him. “And?”

Jack lowered the paper and gave a forlorn sigh. “Its not as bad as I thought, but still not food. Seventy-six members of Fort Guardian have chosen to evacuate. That brings our defensive total force down to about two hundred and fifty.”

Sidney let out a hard breath as Klaryah mumbled, “So much for loyalty amongst the damned. Jack, there’s no way. That’s asking each of us to kill- what like-”

Lain was holding herself with her muscled arms as she muttered, “Forty apiece.”

Everyone heard that number and the cold air suddenly sat in the pit of their lungs. Most of them hadn’t slain half that many Creations in their entire lives.

Karmine let out a rough, devastated sigh. “I suppose evacuation, it is.”

The council glanced to Jack, light with agreement until he shook his head.

Sarah frowned. “What is it?”

“The Location Tablets. Nikereus is here for them. They can’t be moved or destroyed, and they detail the locations of every other Legacy stronghold. We can’t just forfeit them.”

James cracked his fingers nervously. “Jack, we can’t fight them.”

Jack looked at each of them briefly and shook his head. “We don’t have a choice. The reason Nikereus is here is because they overwhelmed Angel’s Archive. We have to stop them here.”

Aroha scoffed and asked, “How!”

Jack looked at her and bit back his snapping response. He knew better. She was scared. They were all scared. “I don’t know,” he said softly. “But it doesn’t matter. Shade Hounds could cover a lot more ground than us. If we tried to leave in a big mass, it would be slow. They’d run us down. Leaving is not an option anymore.”

Sidney watched the breath get drained from the group and turned to Jack. “Well, then, Commander. What’s the plan?”

Jack frowned at the word, and waited for someone to question it, but no one did. He turned to everyone and blinked. “I’m not your Commander. I’m an unofficial warden. I’m a failed rebel- I’m just the old, tired bastard who makes sure no one gets killed.”

Oliver was still quietly watching Michael as he dozed. He half-turned to Jack and said, “Sounds good to me.”

Jack’s hard gaze softened. “Oliver. I promise you¸ you do not want me in this role. I-” Jack stopped himself. “I’ve done this before. It ended the way it always ends with me.”

Rose nudged his shoulder and said, “Look around, Jack. Who else could it possibly be?”

Jack looked straight to Karmine. “You’ve got twice the experience I do.”

“In the ranks, sure. But not at the helm. And for the record, you’re not giving yourself the credit you deserve.” Karmine looked Jack squarely in the eye and said nothing else.

Jack frowned. “How do you know-”

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Rose interrupted and said, “Jack, you won’t be alone. But someone needs to make the calls. And the hard choices… and I don’t think there’s anyone more qualified than you. Council members, who’s in favour?”

Oliver’s hand went up before Rose even managed to. Everyone else followed within a beat and Jack felt the weight of it settle on his shoulders.

Jack began shaking his head and Oliver said, “Jack, all you need to be is the old, tired bastard trying to make sure no one gets killed.”

Jack looked at them all and gave a gentle sigh. “Well, alright. The next big issue is that we’ll have to assume Nikereus knows our plan. Amekot framed Oliver so he could take the files and then hang him and erase any suspicion, but I saw the one’s he ‘recovered’ and they sure weren’t all of them. Which means Nikereus knows. So, we need a new plan.”

Klaryah cleared her throat and mumbled, “A long time ago, I did a job for a young, Crekaen nobleman who I was seeing, to kill his father. His father was a Riinin purist. You know the ones who think love is just for people who look and exactly like him? Anyway, myself and the son were together one night, and Mister Silver walked in on us. Threw a big fit and I left, obviously. And after that, the son didn’t want to see me anymore, because he was worried his father would walk in on us again.”

Sidney saw the dawn stretching fully into sunrise and shrugged. “So?”

Klaryah leaned forward. “I went to his father and said it would never be a problem. Told him I’d learnt my lesson. Told him, on the word of God, I’d never step foot in that palace again.”

Everyone seemed just as confused.

Finally Klaryah leaned back again. “The next day. I walked up to the guards. Announced myself, and walked right the fuck in.”

Sidney realised what she was saying before everyone else and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No.”

“Why not?”

Karmine waved his great, blacksmiths hands and halted the conversation before it got too far away. “Hang on. Mister Silver? Do you mean, Highlord Silver? As in, you were screwing the son of the most powerful man in the world?”

Klaryah looked around the aghast faces as they all realised the same thing and bluntly said, “I find it interesting that the part you all chose to gloss over was that I killed Highlord Silver, but okay.”

Karmine, a Crekaen by birth, blinked with disbelief before his face creased into a wide grin and he began chortling from his stomach. “That might be the best damn thing I’ve ever heard.”

Jack stared at the both of them and then blinked. “Precisely what is this goddamn plan?”

*****

“You’ve got to be kidding me...” Michael sighed, doing all he could not to laugh in manic distress.

It was later in the morning and Michael had arisen to find his company still at his bedside, all except Carter and Magnus. As he traced at the second tattoo on his hand, they’d filled him in on the plan the council had decided upon, which was the exact same plan as before.

“So, you all think we can use the same plan, because we’re going to tell Nikereus that we know Amekot leaked that plan, and therefore they’ll assume we’ll use any plan except the aforementioned plan?” Michael asked, sitting up slowly.

Sarah grinned. “Say “plan” again.”

“I hope your pillow is warm on both sides.”

Oliver snorted and Sarah looked genuinely insulted. Then both of the warriors tried to speak, their words colliding messily, followed by a back and forth of apologies.

“No, you go, really,” Oliver insisted, blushing.

“Oli, please, you talk.”

Oliver looked at her with a frown. His tone had been light but hers was nearly grave. Only after a moment did he realise why. Oliver looked to the others and they each very politely abated their eyes.

Oliver looked back at Michael and the boy in the medical bay bed looked at him, a dread plain upon. He shook his head quietly. “Guys, it’s alright.”

Michael and Sarah shared a hard glance and the Michael looked at Oliver, the same wretched look upon his face. “It’s not. Scream at us if you want to. We deserve it.”

“I’m not going to scream at you.”

Michael sat himself up a little straighter, disbelief plain in his eyes. “Oliver. The rope was around your neck. We’re talking seconds, here. I nearly sent you to Enthall.”

Oliver narrowed his brow. He broke briefly into an uncomfortable smile, but it didn’t last. “I don’t really have a word for how difficult it’s been. Because at least with the Saose it wasn’t personal.” He gave a small, tear-filled smile despite himself. The other Legacies echoed a hollow version of it. “But here’s the thing, guys. I did it. I did. Me. And every single one of you had to look the truth in the face and accept it.”

Nichole wiped her nose and shook her head, “But, Oli, it wasn’t the truth, we should’ve-”

“What?” he asked softly, “known the unknowable? Spared me? Saved me? Believed me? You did those things. All- all of them,” he said sternly as tears began to bead down his face. He paid them little mind. “And look, you might’ve taken a moment to do them, but frankly I would’ve-” he stopped to catch his breath “-been the exact same if roles were reversed. What else were you supposed to do after catching me red-handed?”

A soft beat of silence rolled across them as Lillian worked on the other side of the infirmary in respectful silence.

Oliver turned to Sarah and looked over her hands, gently folded in her lap. He wanted to take them, and hold them tight to his heart, but knew he couldn’t. “I know I must’ve scared you to death down in the archives, and I’m so sorry.”

Sarah shook her head quickly and took his hands tightly, pressing her forehead into his shoulder. “Don’t ever apologise for the things other people do.”

Oliver rested his chin on her head. “Please let me, this time.”

The company sat in tearful silence and said nothing. He was right about everything he spoke of but it didn’t make the guilt any less heavy.

Oliver looked softly at each of them and wiped his eyes. “You’re allowed to feel bad, but only if you all agree, here and now, that sometimes the worst thing imaginable happens. And... sometimes it happens to one of the few people we care about, and sometimes we help it happen. But just because we were used as weapons, doesn’t mean you put me down-range. Agreed?”

One by one they each nodded or mumbled ‘Okay’ and Oliver stood up, pecking each of them on the head with humorous speed, leaving them softly chuckling as he sat down, trying to not blush over the fact that Sarah lightly touched his hand as he’d kissed her.

Michael sat up straight, inspecting the two marks that had been inked into the meat between his thumb and forefinger. He didn’t remember it happening as they did it during his stupor, but the echo of pain lingered. He rather liked the look. The archer glanced from Oliver to the others and sighed. “Oliver, you know this probably isn’t a day you’ll ever forget.”

Oliver blinked softly and hesitantly shrugged, the way brave people do.

Rose nodded to Michael’s words and added, “We appreciate what you said, but... you have every right to be angry or sad or just... unkind, frankly. We all know that you’re you, so you probably won’t...”

Oliver gave a little chuckle.

“But we’d get it if you wanted to. Please don’t judge yourself if you do.”

The swordsman felt the smile on his face and knew it was real, but beneath it all, he could still feel the rope draped around his neck. “Mmm. Okay. I’m going to need you all to listen to me. And I’m only going to say this once.”

There was silence.

Oliver looked at them and with perfect earnest finished, “Thank you for saving me. Thank you for your apologies. I do not accept them. My friends do not have to apologise to me. Enough, now.”

*****

Oliver walked into his room and closed the door softly, only to find that the entire cabin was awake, watching him with grief-ridden faces. He gave them all a small smile and walked down to his bed in silence, to find Iron Tooth laying on his bed, freshly polished. He sat down on the bed and touched the leather of its handle, and before he knew it or understood why, Oliver started weeping as his body shook.

His roommates gathered round quietly, comforting him as well as they could he until Nichole moved through the crowd seemingly from nowhere, and sat down beside him. The ranger pulled him into a tight hug while the boy sobbed into her chest. She held him as her own painful memories arose, and soon the orphans wept in each other’s arms while the Oliver’s roommates looked on silence.

In amongst the breathing cries, Oliver sobbed, “I haven’t felt that alone in so long.”

Nichole held his head and her face was red and puffy as she sniffled. “I know. I know. You never will again. I swear to fucking God.”

Behind the closed cabin door stood Michael, Aroha, James, Rose, and Sarah, wondering how many more pains they would have to inflict and how many more pains they would have endure.