Anchors: Loyalty and War 2 Read online

  “You seem lost in thought more than normal tonight,” Tavros murmured around a bite of stew. “What’s wrong?”

  Valis gave his husband a tired smile and stared down into his half-full bowl as he set his spoon down against the rim. “Just pondering over the visions I saw tonight. At first, when I saw them, I thought it meant the teams for Ortima and Carnis had already succeeded. Just realized it was probably a vision of the future like the first one I had of the Braywar team. It means… I might be able to control when I have a vision. Or, it could mean that Thyran or Sovras decided to take advantage of the fact that I’m a creature of habit.”

  Tavros laughed and nudged his shoulder. “You really are.”

  Shrugging, Valis ate another bite of stew before saying, “It gets duty done.”

  “You…” Tavros stopped to think about that for a moment, then snorted. “You’re not wrong.”

  “Never am,” Valis teased.

  They continued the teasing banter for a bit as they ate and stared into the fire. Then as some cleaned the pots and got ready to break down the cooking fires, Valis tugged Tavros to their tent. Alone time didn’t happen often when on journeys like this, and Valis took it whenever he could.

  No one ever said a thing. When Valis had asked Shyvus about it, he and Phalin both had given Valis fond looks and Shyvus said, “We know how it was when we first bonded. We were as covetous of our alone time as you, and none of the Aesriphos here will ever say a thing, because it is the same for every one of them, too.”

  So, when Valis and Tavros took their time shedding their armor, Valis cherished every second. He didn’t care how bad they smelled, or how cramped the tent was. He pulled Tavros down into their thick bedding, tossed their winter cloaks over top, and snuggled close.

  “You’re adorable when you’re sentimental,” Tavros whispered against Valis’ lips.

  “Just be glad I’m sentimental every night out here.”

  Tavros laughed and kissed him again. “Go to sleep, love.”

  But Valis stayed awake a few minutes longer to watch his husband drift off in the soft glow of the fading mage light because he didn’t know how many nights like this he would have. Their journey promised to be successful, but that was never a guarantee.

  Chapter Two

  Everyone had grown weary of the saddle. Glancing around, Valis was amazed at the control of those he rode with. The more advanced, older Aesriphos and laymen warriors all sat tall on their horses, all kept an attentive expression on their faces, their eyes constantly scanning the area for any signs of danger as they rode. It didn’t matter to them how long they had been in the saddle, or how far away from home they were. Their discipline kept them awake, alert, and focused.

  Valis only wished he could be so disciplined. He kept his back straight, but his focus kept wandering. He stayed alert, but his eyes kept wanting to close. He had the army moving at a steady, fast pace. The wagons remained protected near the center, and they rode in formation of six lines. They varied their pace throughout the day so the horses wouldn’t suffer, but they made better time than when he and his friends journeyed from Cadoras to Lyvea and back.

  But still, no matter how steady the pace, it was the meetings every evening that lasted well into the night that had Valis wanting to pass out on the neck of his horse. Rasera wouldn’t mind, but he had people to lead, and it would look bad if their leader suddenly took a nap in the saddle.

  Or so he assumed. Valis didn’t have the audacity to ask.

  “You know,” Seza muttered from behind, “I liked it better when we were after the Caravan. At least there was chatter to keep us awake.”

  Valis snorted. She was right. Now, it was imperative to ride in silence for the most part so they could launch surprise attacks if they came upon Qos nests. It made for a boring ride, and that was a big part of the reason Valis wished he could nap.

  “We’ve been riding for a month now,” her brother Maphias said. His amused tone made Valis grin. “You’d think you’d be used to it by now.”

  “Shush, you.”

  Valis heard a gauntlet clank against something hard and assumed she punched her brother. He assumed right. Not even a second later, Maphias groaned. “Not on the head.”

  Chuckling, Valis turned to look back at them. “All right. Enough, you two.”

  Quiet chuckles rose through the ranks from the more experienced Aesriphos nearby who were close enough to hear the exchange. Valis smiled. It was little things like this that kept the mood up, even when the days were boring. And with winter upon them, the days were both short and more boring than normal. They stopped late in the evening when the sun was long set and got up before the sun rose to start their day so they could make good time.

  Now, Valis stared ahead, two mercenaries behind him in case he fell into a vision, and endless miles in front of them, waiting for them to cross. It almost seemed as if they had been riding for years instead of just a month.

  He was about to ask Tavros something when he felt himself start to fall. His vision whited out, blocking everything except for sound and touch. Someone called for a halt. Someone else caught him before he tumbled out of the saddle. Then everything went dark.

  A moment later, Valis gasped. Or, his host did. They glanced around, hiding behind a wagon in an alley as they watched men in black armor with red tabards, Qos’ symbol embroidered on the front and back in shiny black thread. The men and women herded the townsfolk like cattle, shouting obscenities and blasting those who opposed them with black magic, charring their bodies until they stopped twitching. Whoever Valis inhabited whimpered at the carnage, and when they looked down to hide their eyes, Valis’ stomach rolled. He looked through the eyes of a terrified child. This young person had somehow escaped notice, and now watched everyone he knew get herded into a large building or fried by dark magic.

  A thick, meaty hand gripped the child’s neck, squeezing so painfully that the child yelped and stopped their thrashing almost as soon as it started. “Please, sir. I’m no trouble!”

  “Damned right you’re not, boy. Get in line before something bad happens.”

  The man threw the boy like a rag doll toward the herd of townsfolk so hard he bounced. Someone grabbed him up and hurried back in line, her arms trembling either from the boy’s weight or from terror.

  The boy looked up into her eyes, tears streaking his own face. His voice shook as he asked, “We’re gonna die, aren’t we, Aunt Ella?”

  She firmed her mouth into a tight line and gazed forward. Her face paled, but she kept a firm expression. The light of the sun caught the red and silver highlights in her brown hair, laced with gray from age. “No,” she finally whispered, her voice and eyes fierce. “No, Athar. We are not. The Aesriphos will come. They have to.”

  “He’s coming around. Keep a steady pace.”

  Valis shivered as the vision faded to darkness. He hated this part the most. Nothing could get him warm until he remembered to regulate his temperature. But he found that somehow, he had stayed ahorse, and as he warmed up, he relaxed into his recovery.

  “Valis?”

  Valis groaned and let his head loll toward Tavros’ voice. “Yeah.”

  “Can you talk about your vision yet?”

  Only now did Valis feel that someone was holding him up in the saddle and guessed it was his husband. When he let his head fall forward, he smelled Tavros’ skin and buried his face there. “Qos adherents have taken over a city.”

  “Can you describe the city, lad?” Phalin asked.

  When Valis gave him as much description as he could, he coughed to clear his throat. “I was in the body of a young boy, Athar. He was captured along with his Aunt Ella.”

  Shyvus let out a string of curses. His voice was grim as he said, “Athar is my great grand-nephew. Ella is one of my grand-nieces.”

  Valis frowned. His vision was starting to return, and he turned to look at his friend. “They were alive and mostly well. I’m unsure if it was a future sce
ne, present, or past. Athar suffered a bit of mistreatment, but he seems fine.”

  Shyvus gritted his teeth but nodded. “Thank you, lad.”

  “Let’s get you back upright in your saddle,” Tavros said. He gave Valis a push and after a moment of adjustment, Valis sat tall again.

  “The place you described is Setira City,” Shyvus said. “That you mentioned Ella and Athar confirms it.”

  “We’re heading there, anyway,” Valis said with a nod. “Let’s stop for a moment of rest. I need to scry.”

  Shyvus gritted his teeth again but nodded and turned to start issuing orders while Tavros helped Valis out of his saddle because his legs were still wobbly from the vision. By the time they had a fire set up to make lunch, Valis had his pocket watch out and was trying to find his focus so he could get more details. He needed to know if what he had seen was present or future. He doubted it was the past.

  “You all right to do that in the open?” Shyvus asked. “Usually you only scry while in your tent.”

  Valis shrugged and rubbed at his eyes. “It helps to have as few distractions as possible because the skill is still new to me.”

  He nodded and went back to looking at his feet. Valis reached over and squeezed the back of his neck since they were both in armor. “We’ll save them, Shy. Sovras gave me that vision for you, I think. He wouldn’t torture you with it if we had no chance of saving them.”

  With a nod, Shyvus reached over and squeezed Valis’ hand in thanks. Valis watched the knot in his friend’s throat bob as he swallowed hard. Watching him like this was almost as hard as listening to Darolen cough and hack when he couldn’t do anything about it. They were both painful feelings that twisted sharply in Valis’ chest.

  “We’ll save them,” Valis whispered. “Don’t lose hope before we even set off.”

  When Shyvus didn’t answer, Valis caught Phalin’s attention and motioned to Shyvus before beckoning him over. He took one look at his husband, paled, and rushed over. After briefing Phalin on what had happened, Valis watched as he led his lover away for what appeared to be a private, tender chat. And with them gone, Valis bent his head and focused on the shiny inside of his golden pocket watch again. The chatter around him droned on, but Valis found it easier to tune it out now that he didn’t have to worry about Shyvus any longer.

  Just as Valis was focusing his intent, Tavros sat beside him now that he was done feeding their horses. His calm, quiet presence gave Valis a little boost to his confidence, and soon he saw Setira City. He was able to move the scry around to check inside buildings and look over people’s shoulders. But as he explored the city, he found no sign of even a single Qos adherent. Either they were well-hidden in disguise, or they had yet to infiltrate the city.

  Lunch was ready by the time Valis finished his exploration. He snapped his pocket watch closed and ate slowly, trying to let his mind relax after the intense scry. When he finished, Tavros quietly plucked his bowl out of his hands and handed him a waterskin. Valis rewarded him with a kiss.

  “You’ve been lost in your head for a while,” Tavros said against his neck as Valis took a healthy swig of tepid water. He pressed a lingering kiss there and rested his forehead against Valis’ temple. “Tell me what you need.”

  Valis felt a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth and turned his head so that their foreheads rested together, and they brushed noses. “You’re doing it already. I have one more scrying session I need to do, then I need to have a meeting of the leaders and reliquary guards. Then we head out again.”

  Tavros tilted his head and brushed a kiss across Valis’ lips. “Then I’ll let you scry. Tell me if you need anything, love.”

  “I will.”

  Another sweet, chaste kiss and Valis reluctantly pulled away to take out his pocket watch and start scanning the areas near Setira City to see if he could locate the Qos adherents.

  “Your brows are furrowing,” Tavros whispered after a few minutes. “Everything going okay?”

  “I’m seeing shimmers,” Valis muttered. “They’re cloaking themselves from scries. I’ve been doing that with our shields. But… I think they’re doing it while they’re moving. I wonder if I can do the same thing. Thyran believes I’m as powerful as, or more powerful than the Sovereign Priest of Qos after what the monastery blessed me with. So, I should be able to shroud our army from scries and view. It would help with the boredom issue we’ve been experiencing.”

  “Can you try seeing the future?”

  Nodding, Valis refocused his scry and went for an aerial view of the city. He forced the scry’s timeline to move ahead at an accelerated pace. After eight days, the city shimmered and disappeared, showing nothing but barren grass. Valis gasped and snapped his pocket watch shut. “They’re blocking my scry or something. When I got to the ninth day, the entire city disappeared. I couldn’t see how many there were, but they get there in nine days.”

  “It will take us ten at a hard ride to get there,” Shyvus muttered. “No matter how we try, we’ll never make it in less.”

  “My vision still stands.” Valis tucked away his pocket watch and stood. “Your relatives will still be alive. They were herding the townsfolk into a large building in my vision, so they weren’t killing anyone except those who fought back. Ella and Athar weren’t fighting. They made it into the building.”

  Shyvus gave a curt nod and raked both hands through his blond hair. “Ten days.”

  “We can make it.” Valis clapped the man gently on the neck and shoved him toward the fire. “Meeting of the leaders and reliquary guards. Let’s get this over with so we can get on our way.”

  Within minutes, the reliquary guards, Jintas, Vodis, Venabi, and Valis’ friends had gathered around while the others cleaned up the lunch dishes and got everything repacked so they could get underway as soon as the meeting was over. Valis looked into as many eyes as he could before letting out a long breath.

  “As far as I can determine, the Qos adherents are on their way to Cadoras but had the same idea as us to stop by Setira City and resupply. Only they don’t plan on buying their supplies and are hoping to use terror as currency.”

  He rubbed the sash around his waist where he kept his pocket watch hidden. “I recognized a few faces.” When several people gasped, Valis held his hand up. “I recognized them from a previous vision I had back in Cadoras.”

  “What was the vision?” Phalin asked. “You have had many.”

  “It was one I had where I thought I saw my fathers fighting,” Valis replied, ensuring his voice was pitched to carry. “They had retreated to the circle of the way stones. In this vision, I saw many Qos adherent faces, and I saw some of those same faces in the vision where I saw the Qos adherents terrorizing Setira City through little Athar’s eyes.”

  Valis spread his hands to the sides, palms up in a gesture to welcome them to see his point. “This means they are probably the remnants of the pocket of adherents who fought the army that had amassed around my fathers, Darolen and Kerac. If this is true, they may have at least some of the answers we need as to where my father was taken, and more importantly, how to get there. We will need to capture the highest ranked Qos adherents for interrogation.”

  “How are we to know their ranks?” one of the reliquary guards asked. “None of us have ever been able to figure out their rankings during a fight.”

  Grinning, Valis tapped his temple. “Dad might recognize some faces. But I can feel the difference in their power. So, I’ll be able to pinpoint who are high priests or greater and single them out for capture. When we fight, I want you to lay stasis on as many as possible. Try to kill as few as you can.”

  Valis grimaced as he rested his hands on his hips. “I’m sorry to ask this of you. I know how much harder this will make the coming fight, but it is necessary. The more information we have, the more able we will be to meet our goal.”

  “It is wise counsel, lad,” Shyvus said. It surprised Valis to hear him so calm now. “The more informat
ion we have, the sooner we can all get back home where we belong, with a mending Darolen in tow.”

  Valis let a brief smile flit across his mouth and dipped his head in thanks. “That is the plan. Now, we need to think strategies. I had the idea of, as soon as we enter the city and get all our men and women inside and into position, setting an impermeable shield around the city so none can escape. This will make it easier to know we’ve fully eradicated the nest and won’t have any following us to report our location and direction to anyone higher in their ranks.”

  Murmurs arose within the reliquary guards as well as the leaders present. Valis waited patiently for them to talk amongst themselves. They were more knowledgeable in war than he, and he didn’t mind. They would let their thoughts be known once they finalized them.

  The one thing Valis was most thankful for was his time training most of these men and women, and the camaraderie they had. He trusted every man and woman who had accompanied him on this journey, both with his own life, as well as the lives of his mate, his friends, and his father. Giving them time to work out their own plans to present was little hardship, even if it did cost valuable time.

  “What about the city folk?” Venabi asked. “Erecting such a shield could spur the Qos adherents to start killing innocents in order to force you to take it down.”

  Valis nodded and let out a long sigh. “I had thought of that. But with the amount of Qos adherents I saw, coupled with our own numbers, if we were to put enough pressure on them, they would be too focused on us to do anything with the townsfolk. Or, that is my hope.

  “Based on what I saw, we outnumber them by quite a bit. I would say it is a five-to-one ratio. Even if it is less, with the training I gave the reliquary guards in the months before we left the monastery, we should be able to put in enough force and pressure to break them with as few casualties as possible. It is completely possible none will even know there is a barrier up until it’s too late.”