Kelsam

“And just who do you think you are?” the leader of the so-called Knights of Galibasti demanded of Esar.

Galibasti. It was a name Kelsam knew only from history books. Galibasti had been the name of the kingdom that encompassed much of the lakelands four hundred years ago, before it was conquered by Kierfes and Isuld. The bloodiest battles of the war of unification had been fought on its territory. In the end, even the kingdom’s name had been vanquished, though not forgotten. What had possessed Lord Norsyff to revive that fallen kingdom and claim to be its king?

“A Sanctuary is sacred ground,” Esar said, dodging his question. “You’ve already broken with Elorhan law and sovereignty, but even in ancient Galibasti, they recognized that anyone who set foot in a Sanctuary was entitled to its refuge. If you’re truly willing to throw even that aside, what remains? What is left that you still hold to?”

Sir Salgiar scowled at Esar. “I’m loyal to my king.”

“And what gives your king the right to his throne?” Esar asked.

Kelsam thought perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to question the legitimacy of a ruler when his soldiers more or less had you surrounded, but Esar wouldn’t let fear stay his tongue.

“No one else cares about this land. Not the king and queen in Thaliron—if they’re even still alive—and not even Norsyff’s own son.”

“The world’s falling apart, and no one else cares about us,” another soldier added.

“The world’s not falling apart,” Naomi said. “It’s going to get better here, I know it!”

“What the hell do you know?” The soldier shoved her, and she bristled.

“Let it go, Naomi,” Kelsam said, praying that she didn’t do something rash and make the situation any worse than it already was. At least none of these soldiers seemed to recognize Esar.

“Do you intend to let us go on our way?” Esar asked.

The leader exchanged looks with some of his squad members, then said, “We’ve wasted enough time with this lot. There may be some stragglers hiding out in the woods. Split up and search.”

As soon as they left, Naomi bounded forward and sprinted for the village. She seemed to have much better control of her movements, now, than she had when they’d first set out from Norana. That meant she had better control over her vitricity, but as for any other powers she possessed . . .

“Before you ask, no, I did not see this coming.” Esar hurried ahead.

“I wasn’t going to ask—” Kelsam began, looking back over his shoulder. “Wait, Esar!”

“What—”

“Jason wasn’t that far behind us. He should have caught up by now.”

Esar paused for a moment, then turned and headed back the way they came. “Go on. I’ll go back and look.”

Because someone might need me to be a healer again.

The people of the village made a wide circle around the burning house, which was too far gone to be salvaged. Naomi had rushed to the front of that crowd, closer to the fire than Kelsam would have been comfortable going. She reached out her hand, perhaps trying to use her power to put the fire out, somehow?

“Is anyone hurt?” Kelsam asked. Someone pulled on his sleeve.

“Oh, you’re here already!”

“What?”

“I thought you were from the Sanctuary,” said the man who’d grabbed his arm.

“Not from Rhadasy,” Kelsam said. “A traveler. But I can help.”

He brought Kelsam to a teenage girl covered in ash and soot who was coughing up black mucus. Kelsam was able to help her breathe more easily and with less pain, and she hadn’t inhaled enough smoke for it to be life-threatening.

“Damn it,” she rasped. “Damn them, damn them, damn them all.” Tears made streaks down the soot that covered her face.

“Rest your voice,” Kelsam said.

“I don’t want to rest my voice!” she shrieked.

“Masi.” The man—probably her father—turned her name into a stern warning.

“How dare they,” Masi whispered, unable to be silent in spite of the admonition. “How dare they call Obrist a traitor when they’re serving a—a usurper!”

“Can you tell me what happened?” Kelsam asked. He meant the question for her father, but it was Masi who answered with another harsh whisper.

“They’re no better than bandits. They came here looking for my brother and when they didn’t find him—” A coughing fit prevented her from finishing the sentence.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Why were they looking for your brother? When did Norsyff declare himself king, anyway?” Kelsam was still missing the pieces he needed to understand the situation. Less than an hour ago the construct bird had topped his list of concerns, but now he was standing in what claimed to be a splinter kingdom with knights roaming the countryside to brutally enforce their king’s rule. This sudden transformation of the reality he thought he knew was enough to make his head spin.

“We found out about it yesterday,” said Masi’s father. “That’s when the messenger came to tell us. The speaking line’s been out since the incident, of course. But we’ve had a good bit of help from the Sanctuary getting things fixed, and things aren’t as bad here as they are further north. Obrist went north to help some friends about a week ago, or that’s at least what he said, and we haven’t seen him since. I hope he made it to the Sanctuary. We can rebuild our house, but . . . ” He looked down at Masi, who had curled up with her arms around her knees.

“How can you be so calm?” she muttered.

“Where’s Esar and Jason?” Naomi approached Kelsam, looking around for the others.

“On their way, I hope,” Kelsam said.

“I can’t believe this,” Naomi said. “I wish I could tell Adrin right now, but he won’t go to sleep for hours yet—”

“Naomi,” Kelsam interrupted her. He didn’t think anyone was listening too closely, but it didn’t hurt to be careful.

“Right, sorry,” she said. “But it’s just so awful and I want to do—something! Anything. And I can’t. What good am I if I can’t do anything?”

“I hate feeling helpless, too,” Kelsam said.

“Then don’t be helpless. Do something.” Masi got to her feet; apparently someone had been listening to Kelsam and Naomi. “I should have gone with Obrist before.”

Her father shook his head. “You’re not of age, I don’t want you getting hurt—”

“So what, we sit around here and let them get away with it? You get it, don’t you?” Masi looked Naomi in the eyes and seemed to lose her momentum. “Oh. Your eyes—”

“Are weird. I know,” Naomi said. “And I do know what you mean. Oh, there’s my friend!”

Kelsam turned to see Jason approaching, and he wasn’t alone. A girl with yellow hair was walking beside him, and they were accompanied by several Devoted, probably from Rhadasy.

One woman in the group wasn’t wearing a belt, though there was nothing else in her attire to set her apart. Her red-black hair was pulled into a braid and she wore a simple, well-tailored tunic of slate gray.

“Kelsam?” she said, hurrying ahead of the others, her eyes wide. “Kelsam Bauricta, is that you?”

Kelsam thought he’d recognized her, but he hadn’t been sure until she spoke. “Guennet?”

“You two . . . know each other?” Jason said, looking from Guennet to Kelsam with visible bewilderment.

“We went to school together,” Guennet said, before Kelsam could think of an appropriate answer.

“Did you see Esar on your way here?” Kelsam directed the question at Jason, but it was Guennet who answered first.

“Oh, Esar’s with you? Of course he is! You got married, didn’t you? And I called you Kelsam Bauricta . . . forgive me, I’ve had so much on my mind lately that I can’t keep track of the things I really should remember.”

“We didn’t see him,” Jason said. “I thought he was with you?”

“He went to look for you,” Kelsam said, wishing that he hadn’t. All their plans seemed up in the air, now, but whatever they decided to do, Kelsam was determined that the four of them should stick together, especially on this land that Norsyff considered his own personal kingdom. If that man found out that Esar Semfrey was on his territory . . .

“I am sorry that I took him when you were looking for him. He went to Rhadasy with me to fetch the others,” said the girl who had accompanied Jason.

“Is my brother in Rhadasy? Is he safe?” Masi demanded.

“I’ll go find Esar,” Naomi said at the same time, then dashed off before Kelsam could make up his mind whether or not that was a good idea.

“What’s your brother’s name?” Guennet asked Masi.

“Obrist Rems.”

Recognition flashed in Guennet’s eyes. “Yes. He’s safe.”

A smile of relief flooded Masi’s face. “Mom! Dad!” she called, and she too dashed off, to deliver the news to her parents.

That left Kelsam with Jason and his two companions, one familiar but unexpected, and the other a stranger whose appearance was particularly strange. The girl’s hair was as yellow as Jason’s had been before they dyed it. Bleached, probably, though she looked as if she could be part-Namaian, with paler skin than the average Elorhan and a generous scattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

“I am Tlaya,” she said. She must have noticed him staring at her, but she didn’t seem bothered by it, and spoke in a cheerful tone. “I am so glad to meet you!”

“Ah, nice to meet you, too?” Kelsam said, looking to Jason for some explanation as to this girl’s presence.

“She . . . just told me there was trouble here, and we needed to get help.” Jason looked down at the ground and shifted his footing.

“I expected worse, honestly, after what happened in Varshill and Gulna,” Guennet said.

“What happened in Varshill and Gulna?” Kelsam asked, though a picture was beginning to come together in his head. Perhaps it had been a mistake to come this way at all.

“Even more of this disgusting sort of justice,” Guennet said, looking at the smoldering ruin of what had been Masi’s house. “The refugees started flowing into the Sanctuary this morning.”

Kelsam shuddered. “I don’t understand.”

“Unfortunately, I do,” Guennet said. “Power twists people. It’s the same reason I was so terrible back in school. I know words don’t make much difference now, Kelsam, but I am sorry for the way I treated you and everyone else. You were always kinder to me than I deserved, and I’m grateful for that. People like you showed me I didn’t have to be . . . that kind of person.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Kelsam said, digesting her speech. Had Guennet Gabarias really gone through such a complete transformation? She sounded sincere, and she’d come to help with the Devoted from Rhadasy, though he noted that she wasn’t wearing a belt herself.

“I can’t Devote myself,” Guennet said, responding to Kelsam’s glance at her waist. “I’m still Saiglen’s heir, since Pascharet is pledged to House Yasoh. I can’t escape my destiny, but I can use the power I’m stuck with for good. My endowment goes to Rhadasy—all of it, for the school, the hospital, even the garden. I missed the garden back in Norana, so I tried to make something like it here. And they let me keep a house on Sanctuary ground, even though I can’t abdicate my position. Jason told me you were planning to stay in Rhadasy tonight, and I’d be honored if you would all stay with me.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I really don’t mind staying in one of the hostels,” Kelsam said.

Guennet shook her head. “There’s no room in the dormitories. You really . . . you really don’t know what’s going on here, do you?”

“I can see that it’s not good,” Kelsam said. He needed to talk to Esar. Damn it, he should never have let the man out of his sight. For all he knew, there were soldiers hiding behind every tree, lying in wait to capture the man who sent Norsyff’s favorite son to his death in Bhadrat.