Victor of Tucson

“A fire?” Edeya frowned, peering beyond the parapet, over the rough ground to the distant milling throng of the undead.

“Yeah, a real horror of a forest fire. Something you’d never wish to see happen, except for maybe if your forest was full of zombies and shit.” Victor leaned against the smooth black stones on one elbow and looked at Edeya with a wry smile. “What do you think?” He’d been standing on the ramparts, watching the undead for hours. Valla had gone off to write in the Command book, hoping for an update from Rellia or Borrius. Sarl was busy with his lieutenants, Kethelket was scouting with a few of his Naghelli, and Lam was sleeping—catching up on a few nights of inadequate sleep, as she’d put it. Edeya, though, had been keeping him company.

“I . . . I think it sounds too easy. Do you think they’ll burn?”

“I don’t know, but I’m betting if we send the Naghelli south, over the horde to the edge of the forest, then have them light it up, fan it with some magical winds . . .” Victor pantomimed flames burning with his fingers wriggling in the air and then blew on them. “Whoosh! I bet we can cut down the number of undead outside our walls.”

“But the forest . . .”

“I mean, fires happen, right? It sucks, but the forest will recover. Don’t some trees need fires to make their seeds sprout?”

Edeya’s blue dragonfly wings vibrated rapidly for a second, shedding thousands of little motes of light, and she blushed. “Sorry! I’m still getting used to how expressive my wings have become!” Victor just grinned at her, and she continued speaking rapidly, “It’s true; a forest will recover from a fire. A normal fire. I hope whatever flames the Naghelli Pyromancers can summon won’t prove too destructive.”

“Let’s put it this way—that forest is never going to recover if Prince Hector wins. It’ll become a dreary, dying, horrible place.”

“A fair point, Legate.” Edeya smiled, and Victor marveled at how good she looked. He’d never have recognized her if she had shown up looking like this back in the mines—her wings were twice the size of the runty things she’d had before. She was a good deal taller and far more filled out; her forearms, protruding from her rolled-up uniform sleeves, were wiry with muscle.

“Huh?”

“Oh, never mind. I guess he’s been pretty busy, and so have you. I asked him to work on your spear skills with you.”

“You asked . . .” Edeya’s eyebrows turned down, and her newly blue eyes turned stormy. “You asked a Naghelli to teach me to use the spear?”

“Not teach you to use . . .”

“Do you know how insulting that is to a Ghelli?” Her voice had grown shrill with outrage.

“No, I guess . . .”

“I will not take lessons from Prince Kethelket!” Her eyes sparked with blue Energy, and Edeya turned on her heel and stomped away.

“What the hell?” The abrupt display of fury completely took Victor aback. Hadn’t Edeya been one of the more reasonable ones when it came to accepting the Naghelli? What was the deal with her eyes flashing with Energy? Was it something to do with her new bloodline? The more Victor thought about it, the more he felt that was the answer to the puzzling outburst. He considered how his Quinametzin bloodline sometimes rose up in him and made him say something or act a certain way. Maybe some Cobalt Wing ancestor of Edeya’s had a real problem with Naghelli, and she was unconsciously channeling her. “Or him.” Victor shrugged.

He looked out over the clearing toward the forest again, watching the shifting, aimless, uncountable thousands of undead. How long did they have before some baron of Hector’s showed up and took charge of the horde? How long before these undead were pouring through a shattered wall, flooding the keep with their bodies, overwhelming the Ninth? They needed to do something. He had half a mind to jump out there and start going to town with Lifedrinker, killing as many as he could before his Energy ran low, and he had to retreat. Wouldn’t that work? If he killed a few hundred or even thousands of them at a time? The answer was that it depended on how much time they had.

“Yeah,” he grunted, starting for the stairs, nodding to the soldiers he walked past, “time to quit wasting time.” A young woman with bright yellow hair saluted him with wide eyes, clearly having heard what he said. Victor winked at her and hopped down the steps, five at a time. “Sarl!” he yelled.

“Sir!” Sarl replied, startling him; he’d been standing near the base of the stairs.

“Can you get ahold of Kethelket? It’s time to do something about this horde.”

“He’s within the keep, sir. Something about updating the maps in the Command book.”

“Can you grab him and Valla? Also, get Lam—wake her if you need to. We’ll meet in my house in fifteen minutes.”

Sarl didn’t waste time with words. He slammed his fist to his chest and then hurried to the keep. The two lieutenants he’d been speaking to looked around with blank expressions, clearly wondering what to do now that Victor had interrupted whatever they’d been up to with Sarl. He nodded to them. “Go on, then. Practice with your weapons if you don’t know what else to do.” He strode across the courtyard and into his house, only to almost smash face-first into Edeya. She’d been heading for the exit when he stepped in.

“Victor, I . . .”

“You okay?”

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me! I got filled with such anger when you mentioned the . . . you know.”

“You can’t say it?”

“I don’t want to! Something in me really, really doesn’t like them.”

“It’s your bloodline, I’m guessing. Did you have a vision when you advanced?”

“Yes! An amazing experience! I walked in the Blue Deep when the world was new. I . . .”

“Hold up!” Victor held up a hand, chuckling. “I want to hear about your vision but come sit with me. The others will be here soon, and we might be interrupted, but I want you to know that I get it. My bloodline changed me a little, too.” He laughed and walked past her to the long table, where he pulled out the chair at the right end and sat down. “Sit down.”

“Thank you.” Edeya was stiffly formal as she pulled out the chair and folded her hands before her on the tabletop. Victor knew she was trying to make up for her outburst.

“Relax, all right? I’m not upset. Sometimes, my Quinametzin ancestry influences how I respond to certain things, especially when I feel like someone is challenging me. I’m sure your Cobalt Wing ancestor has a good reason to hate the Naghelli, but you can take control of those emotions. They don’t have to control you. It’s a matter of practice and, well, I guess will.”

“My will is one of my lower attributes, but Lam thinks I should start to focus on it now that I have a new affinity.”

“Yeah, I agree with Lam. Everyone could benefit from more will. You know it comes in handy in many ways, right? It helps you to resist mental influences, it helps you to affect others with your magic, it helps your Energy pool to grow, but even more, it helps it to recover more quickly. I could go on, but did you know will is my primary attribute? It’s higher than my strength and even my vitality.”

“No.” Edeya’s eyes were wide, and she leaned forward with genuine interest. “I never would have guessed that, but looking back, it makes a kind of sense. You never broke, no matter the hell you went through. When you disappeared into the depths with Thayla, I thought I’d seen the last of you.”

“Yeah. Well, I’m trying to make the point that you don’t have to let your bloodline dictate your actions or feelings. You can push back if you want to, and I think in the case of Kethelket, you should try. He has a lot to teach someone like you, hell, anyone, really. He’s very skilled with weapons. You know he was alive before the joining, right?”

“Yes, I knew that.” She frowned, and he saw her fingers tightening where she held them clasped. “I guess I never really thought about the implications, though. I didn’t know he was a spear fighter.”

“He learned the spear before the sword.”

“I will try to hold my feelings in check, Victor.” She nodded curtly, and Victor knew she was struggling to maintain her composure. He decided to let the matter drop for the moment.

“All right. I don’t want to keep bugging you, so I’ll drop it. You know, Edeya, I’m still Victor—the one you met in the mines. I have nice armor and gained a bunch of levels, but I’m not really much older or wiser or anything. I’m still screwing up constantly. Don’t worry about yelling at me, okay?”

Edeya smiled, and it was the same expression he remembered despite the many changes that had occurred in her. “You’ve changed more than you think. You’re a hero—a literal hero. You’ve saved so many people and performed some feats that people all over the Empire are talking about. You might feel the same in here,” she rapped her knuckles on his armored chest, “but you’re not. You’ve learned a lot.”

“Well,” Victor coughed into the back of his hand, hiding a brief surge of emotion, “I appreciate you saying that. I’m glad I still have you to talk to. You know, of all the people in this army, even Thayla, only one person has known me longer than you have.”

“That’s kind of sad. Who? Lam?”

“Uh, well, I guess, technically, Lam has known about me at least as long as you, but you knew me first. Right? Anyway, I was talking about Sarl. I met him when I was new in the world.”

“So . . .”

“So, you’re important to me. Remember that! Now, have you had a chance to look at Victoria’s things?”

“You’re important to me too, Victor. Don’t worry, I won’t forget what a strange, idiotic boy you used to be.” She laughed and punched him on the shoulder. “About the undead lady’s things, only briefly. I was afraid to do more than a cursory examination. The containers are still bonded to her, and I didn’t know if you intended to return any of the objects.”

“What kinds of things did she have?”

“Two storage rings. That lacy sash was also a storage device. Let’s see, a mundane if pretty bracelet, three other magical rings, and a very Energy-dense amulet that frightened me. I didn’t try to investigate it.”

“Let me see it.”

Edeya opened a large leather satchel she wore attached to her belt and dug around for a moment, and then she deposited a silver pendant attached to a long, fine-linked silver chain on the table. She placed it face up, and Victor could see it was carved with the likeness of a youthful woman, complete with fine details like individual strands of hair looping down over the sharp jawline. Her eyes were just as detailed, and the irises were tiny, perfectly cut red gemstones. “Damn.” He picked it up and ran his thumb over the carving, marveling at the craftsmanship and wanting to confirm that it wasn’t some trick of the light, that it wasn’t, in fact, a portrait.

“Do you feel it?”

“Nothing in particular. I mean, other than the tiny, carved details.”

“I felt something stir within. It almost seemed alive when I touched it.”

“Well.” Victor frowned. “Do you want me to take it? I can ask her about it.”

“I can keep it with the other things.” Edeya held out her hand, and Victor handed the amulet over. He was about to ask her to let him see one of the storage rings when he heard footsteps approaching from the foyer.

“Tell you what,” he said, standing up to greet the others, “I’ll bring you with me when I go talk to her later. We can give her the plain bracelet and try to go over some of that stuff. Cool?”

Edeya smirked. “Cool.”

“Now you’re getting it!”

“You have a plan?” Lam’s voice rang out as she strode into the room. “I was looking for you, Edeya.”

“Oh . . .”

“She was helping me with the plan.”

“A plan?” This time, it was Kethelket who spoke up as he entered the room. Right on his heels were Valla and Sarl.

“You’re all here, good. Sit down, everyone.” Victor gestured to the empty seats, then he led by example, pulling his chair up, grinding the feet over the wooden floor.

“Please tell me you aren’t going to try to fight the whole horde all alone.” Valla ran her fingertips over the nape of his neck as she passed, sending an electric shiver down his spine. She grinned at him as she sat in the chair to his right.

“Not exactly.” Victor waited for everyone to sit down and give him their attention. “We’re going to start a forest fire, a real motherfucking inferno of one.”

“Mother . . .” Kethelket shook his head, eyes wide with disgust.

“Not literally! Relax, listen. Kethelket, how many Pyromancers are among your people here?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but at least,” he looked up at the ceiling, and Victor could see his fingers moving as he silently counted, “thirty. At least thirty of my two hundred have fire affinities. Some much stronger than others.”

“And you have a similar amount with air affinities?”

“I’d say so, yes.” Victor could see him connecting the dots in his head, putting together what Victor was going to ask of him. “There may be some problems with this plan.”

“Yeah, I figured I might not have thought of everything.”

“You want the Naghelli to fly past the undead and light the forest afire?” Sarl nodded enthusiastically. “I like it. They seem to burn well, the undead.”

“The mist is thick in the woods, and it seems to hinder flames. My casters were mentioning it after the battles the other day, but . . .” Kethelket stood and paced about while Victor watched, waiting for him to finish his statement. “We may be able to mix some potent alchemical accelerants. Yes. I believe Vussa and Holn have what we’d need. May I speak to my people?”

“I have an alchemist with four assistants in my cohort. I’m sure they can help.” Sarl also stood.

“Well, shit, I didn’t have to explain much at all. Okay, go try to make a plan—keep one thing in mind for your logistics: When you’re ready, I’m going to ride out and try to get the undead to chase me on Guapo. I’ll lead them deeper into the woods.” At his words, Lam, Valla, and Edeya all groaned. “What?”

“I was simply waiting to see how this plan would involve you risking your life. When you mentioned the Naghelli, I was hopeful that you’d decided to let some others carry part of the burden for a while.” Valla sighed heavily after speaking, and Victor saw Lam nodding along with her.

“You don’t think I should do that? They can’t catch Guapo . . .”

“Can Guapo truly charge through tens of thousands of undead?” Edeya held her face straight, but Victor could hear the laughter in her words.

“Well, I’m sure he could get through a lot, and then I can leap and hack, and, well, you guys know I’m pretty resistant to fire, right?”

“Forgive my dissension,” Kethelket had been nearly out of the room when Victor spoke up, but now he walked back to the table, “but I feel you should be at the keep in case this other baron you mentioned shows up. He may already be en route, and the fire may not deter him, not if he’s as strong as your prisoner indicated.”

“Well, I guess . . .”

“Additionally,” Kethelket continued, “I have some plans to lure the undead further into the woods. My people are quite adept at baiting foes.”

“All right, all right.” Victor waved a hand toward the door. “Don’t let me slow you down. Let’s make this happen.” He turned back to the table as they left. “Any word from Borrius?”

“They’re lying in wait, but the scouts Kethelket left with them report an army approaching. They only counted two thousand, and Borrius is frothing at the mouth with anticipation.”

“That’s what I’d hoped. I bet Hector thinks the main army is here. He either split his forces or sent the only nearby army he had to try to take Old Keep. I bet it’s option number two. I think Borrius and Rellia will be able to push south and claim another territory with hardly any resistance.”

“You really think this forest fire idea is going to work?” Victor could always trust Lam to speak her mind.

“I feel confident that it will at least partially work. We’ll still have fighting to do here, especially if this Karl the Crimson asshole is on his way. Which,” he paused and summoned a bloody rag from his dimensional container, “brings me to my next question. Do you guys think I should eat this now or save it?”

“Oh, roots! Is that a heart?” Edeya recoiled; she knew about Victor’s strange ancestral habit, but she’d never seen him in the act.

“I’m not gonna eat it here, relax.” Victor sent the organ back into his ring. “I like to be in my titan form first anyway.”

“Will it leave you insensate? Is it like a racial advancement?” Lam didn’t seem bothered at all.

“I’ve eaten a couple of potent hearts, and both times, I lost myself to some kind of vision, but only briefly.”

“Is that heart more or less potent?” Lam looked from Victor to Valla as though she’d keep him honest.

“I think it’s less potent. A lot of tough pendejos had to work to bring the wyrm down, and our very strong friend killed the Night Brute Prince.”

“I’ve never heard . . .” Edeya started to say, but Lam interrupted her.

“Then eat it. You might as well have every advantage.”

“I agree, Victor.” Valla reached over and put her cool, soft palm atop his knuckles. Edeya’s eyes nearly shot out of her head as she looked from Valla to Victor and back again. She opened her mouth, but Lam punched her in the shoulder, and she closed it.

Victor stood up, accidentally knocking his chair over behind him, and nodded to the three women. “Right. It’s settled, then. I’ll eat this thing right away. That corpse-crafting dude could be here at any moment.”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!