Hermera

The 18th of Thargelion

The Year 4631 in the Era of Mortals

Basil did not regain consciousness. For the next half hour, Arche channeled Minor Heal as often he could. Despite the seriousness of the situation and the mindfuck the day had brought him, he felt a quiet thrill as his Mana cycled. No pain, no tearing, just magic.

Alex had restored his Mana pathways in an instant. The murderer understood magic on a level that Arche couldn’t begin to fathom but, somehow, he had to. Alex wasn’t completely separate, no matter how much Arche wished he was. He wasn’t the same, either, but Arche remembered most of what Alex had known. Remembered the blood and the killing, the planning and the scheming, but there was more to Alex’s life than murder. There was a glimmer of happiness somewhere in his past, before all the horror started. The problem was, in order to go back that far, Arche had to confront all the horrors again. That wasn’t going to happen, not now.

Arche pumped more Mana into Basil and, when he hit his self-imposed limit of sixty Mana remaining, checked his flashing notifications.

Minor Heal increased to Level 3.

+0.5 Health per 20 Mana (+1.5)

Current conversion rate: 1.65 Health per 20 Mana.

His healing capacity had tripled since his start. Pouring three-hundred Mana into Basil each time meant he went from healing just over eight Health to healing twenty-four. A quick check of Basil’s vitals showed that the young guard’s Health was sitting at thirty-one percent. A much more comfortable range, especially since the bleeding had stopped and his Health had stabilized. The bed sheets were ruined, but that was a small price to pay for Basil’s life. Arche sat back in his chair and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“So much for being weak,” he muttered.

The process of draining Mana and waiting for it to regenerate had left him drenched and exhausted. His mind felt stretched despite his Mana not going below twenty percent. The constant use was exhausting in a way that had nothing to do with Stamina. He was starting to see why Odelia always looked so ragged after using her magic.

The door opened.

Arche jumped from his chair and summoned the Tridory into his hands, crouched into a combat pose. Tess, Cora, and Helwan walked in, each regarding the situation with more than a little concern. Arche looked between the three of them, searching for any sign of ill-intent.

“Did you lose your sight again? It’s us,” Cora said.

Arche hesitated, then lowered his spear. He gestured one hand toward Basil.

“He’s stable, if unconscious. His Health’s about a third of his maximum but he’ll live. I didn’t see any permanent injuries, so he should hopefully recover quickly.”

Cora moved to Basil’s side and placed one hand against his forehead.

“He’s cold.”

She produced a camping blanket and wrapped it over him. Arche watched with passive interest. For the entire time that he’d known her, she had been distant and argumentative every step of the way. Despite that, she’d volunteered twice to go with him. It seemed he had his answer. Arche turned to find the other two staring at him.

“What?” The word snapped out, hardly sounding like him.

“Are you feeling all right?” Helwan asked.

“We don’t have time for this. Tess, where do you think Basil’s family is being held?”

“They’ll be at the docks or very nearby. I imagine they’ll want a trade.”

“A trade? For whom?” Helwan’s eyes went wide. “For me?”

“No.” Tess gave the satyr’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “For me. The Hekatonkheires and I have history together. I wanted to leave it behind; they clearly disagree. This is my fault. My responsibility.”

“What’s the plan?” Cora raised an eyebrow. “Ambush the ambushers? Get the guards involved?”

“We’d never be able to sneak up on them and they would kill Basil’s mother and sister the moment they saw guards sniffing around. No, I’m on my own for this.”

Helwan’s ears perked at that.

“No, you’re not. You have us. Just tell us what to do.”

Tess shook her head.

“Helwan, you’re no fighter. The best place for you is here. Cora, I need you to protect both of them. If you were followed back here by the Hekatonkheires, they may try to finish the job once I leave.”

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Cora cut her eyes sideways at Arche and cleared her throat.

“Arche would be better at fighting indoors. I should go with you, where my bow will be of more use.”

Tess shook her head.

“They’ll expect the two of us. They won’t fight us immediately; we’ll be able to negotiate. If they find you, they’ll kill the family.”

“You’ll be outnumbered,” Cora warned.

“I always am,” Tess sighed. “But I don’t have another choice.”

She glanced in Arche’s direction and he heard the unspoken accusation. Whatever trust had formed between them in the last two months was falling apart. She didn’t really believe he would go with her. The set of her mouth, the angry glint in her eyes; she was ready to die if it meant getting Basil’s family back.

That…didn’t seem like something Alex’s version of her would do.

Arche cycled through his inventory, equipping his mantikhoras armor over his town clothes. He placed a hand on Basil’s forehead and channeled more Mana into the guard, a parting gift.

Then he stepped around the bed and moved to the door, which Tess still stood in front of. Her eyes looked up at his, hard and unyielding.

“I’ll be waiting outside,” he said and stepped past her.

The night air was cold and there was a bite that promised a storm. Arche shuffled his feet and pulled his cloak closer around himself. Down the street, lights hung from streamers that stretched from building to building. The music carried across the air, fervent and full of strings, riling people into a frenzy before the oncoming weather. It was difficult to say whether the promise of rain would wash the people home or if they would continue their manic celebrations heedless of the deluge. They would likely find out before the night was over.

Arche stared at the sky. The Tridory was affixed in its staff disguise and he leaned against it. A crow gave a loud caw from a nearby rooftop before taking flight, winging its way toward the sea. For a moment, Arche felt a pang of envy. That crow had a freedom he would never know again, unburdened with concerns of past, present, and future. A crow could simply be, with no thought given to its actions or the actions of other crows around it.

Tess walked out the door and he looked away from the bird. She passed him and started down the street. A flash of annoyance sparked but he swallowed it down. It was neither the time nor the place.

“Do you have a plan?” he asked as he caught up to her. “Or are you just going to ask nicely?”

“I have a plan.”

“Care to share?”

“You know, Arche? I really don’t.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” he snapped. “This is more important than us, right now.”

“You’re right. Lives are in danger, but you’ve been off ever since you came back from that stupid magic shop and I can’t trust you, so I don’t want you there.”

“Then be glad I’m not doing it for you.”

“You don’t know these people like I do. If you blunder in, you’ll get Basil’s family killed. My only chance at getting them out alive is to negotiate.”

Arche scowled.

“You’re going to give yourself up to get them back? That’s it? Hope that they keep their word?”

“What am I supposed to do? Sacrifice Basil’s family?”

“You think of a third option, damn it.”

Tess let out a frustrated sigh, turning her eyes toward the stormclouds above.

“I’m out of options and I’m tired of running. This was always going to happen, one way or another.”

“I don’t accept that.”

“What do you care anyway?” she snapped. “You made your position clear.”

“What do I care?” Arche fought the urge to scream. “God damn it, woman. The whole fucking reason I’m upset is because I care. I can’t stop caring, no matter how little you seem to, nor how little I deserve it. Everything I see is death. I won’t watch you die, too. Not again.”

“But I’m the idiot,” Tess muttered sarcastically. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to not be able to trust your own feelings? Your own thoughts? To know if I love you because I chose to or if it was because you planted that thought in me?”

Arche stopped walking.

“What?”

“I tried to tell you before. What you did…I know why you did it but I can’t trust my own feelings. Not about this, not about anything. I think I never could. And you acting like this is not helping things.”

“You…love…”

Arche felt blood roaring in his ears, drowning out her words. In his mind, two Theresas stood in front of him. One with a cruel smile, staring down at him with mocking pity, but the other had such a look of fierce vulnerability that he couldn’t help but believe her.

Pain streaked through his head. Arche gasped, one hand covering his eyes. A second flash of pain forced him to his knees. Both versions of Tess were equally solid, equally real. Both stared at him with rich, brown eyes filled with completely different emotions. Behind both of them, he saw Alex’s grinning face.

“Stop.”

Arche looked up, the ghosts of his mind had vanished, leaving him to stutter through reality. Tess froze at his word, hand half-extended toward him. He stood, teeth clenched against the low throbbing of his head.

“I remembered who I am, Tess.”

Her mouth opened in shock but he kept talking, he couldn’t stop.

“I can’t talk about it yet. Not here and not now, but it’s bad. It’s worst-case shit. Getting that knowledge, I lost things as well. I don’t know what’s real anymore. I look at my friends and I see enemies. I look at open air and I see ghosts.”

“I’m real, Arche.” Tess’s voice was soft and low, like she was speaking to a wounded animal.

“Yeah, but which you? That’s the part I can’t figure out yet. You can’t trust your thoughts? Neither can I. But it doesn’t matter right now. Basil’s family is in danger. We don’t have time to deal with my issues.”

Arche felt Tess’s hand touch his cheek. He craved her touch, but if he let himself get wrapped up in it, it would only hurt. He gently pulled her hand away.

“I can’t trust anything right now, least of all myself, but I’m not willing to lose you. Even if you do hate me.”

“I don’t hate you, Arche.”

“You will.” He swallowed. “Now, do you have a plan?”

Tess bit her lip and stared at Arche for a long moment.

“I’ll tell you on the way. Come on.”

They raced down the street, headed for the docks on the other side of town. Around them, the revelers leaped and twirled, lost in their own worlds and the magic of the dance, completely oblivious to the blood that was to be spilled.