"He still could have listened," Koray said. "He didn't have to order my arrest and have me put in manacles. I didn't deserve that."
"No, you didn't," Emel said. "But I think you both deserve a second chance to explain yourselves. I will do all that I can to help you, whatever you decide you want, necromancer. Because of you, my lover is sitting around a campfire with my friends eating in peace. There isn't—" He broke off, voice catching a moment. It was still a trifle unsteady when he resumed, "Nothing I can do compares to that. I was resigned to being found out and killed where I stood one day. You believed and took a chance where no one else would have. We don't have to hide anymore. Thank you. I promise, I will beat sense into Sorin if that is what I must do. But if I know him …" he paused to flash a brief grin. "He is already quite despondent and furious with himself. So stop hiding out here in the dark and come back to the campfire, High Necromancer. There are plans to make."
Koray looked up at the moon again, then nodded and quickly finished the last couple bites of his stew. Emel stood up and held out a hand. After a moment of hesitation Koray took it, letting Emel help him to his feet. He followed Emel back to camp and found a place to sit with Brekk and Neikirk. The paladins and knights were scattered around other campfires. They shot Koray's group frequent looks, but never acted on whatever thoughts were running through their heads.
"So how far are we from the border?" Koray asked. "Do you think it will be hard to get them to tell us about the white demons? Though it is probably best that Brekk and I do not remain with you past a certain point. Having a demon and a necromancer along will not do much to encourage anyone to cooperate." He flicked his gaze around the camp again, catching many a wary glance. "We are barely being tolerated here, even if Lisay did vouch for him. Navath will not take too kindly to it, either, I suspect. Not the places we're bound, anyway."
Neikirk nodded in agreement. "They will not take kindly to the paladins either, though, because all magic except alchemy is outlawed, and alchemists are legally property. I am, strictly speaking, still Cerant's property. That will make forcing them to listen to us hard enough, but it is better to show strength than to accommodate them. We are there to extract information they will not want to surrender. Best to show them we will take it at all costs. And who knows, perhaps having a demon on our side will demonstrate that we possess knowledge they have proven to sorely lack."
"Maybe," Emel said. "I guess we will see, because in answer to your question, Koray, we are only about a day from the border now. I cannot believe you two flew all this way. That must have exhausted you."
Brekk shrugged. "At least I had something to do and am not terrified of heights."
Koray glared at him then scowled at the fire. "I'm not terrified of heights; I just do not understand why we cannot keep our feet on the ground where they are meant to be." Everyone laughed, though Koray ignore them. He looked up again, however, when someone thrust a cup of what smelled like ale into his hands. "Thank you," he said to Lisay, who smiled and then withdrew.
The ale was hot and fought off what chill the fire could not. Eventually, the conversation buzzing around him lapsed and around the camp, men began to retire in ones and twos. Brekk and Emel eventually slipped away to sleep as well, followed shortly by Lisay, until Koray and Neikirk were the only ones remaining.
"So Brekk is definitely our missing fifth?" Koray asked.
Neikirk nodded, and even in the insufficient glow of the firelight Koray could see his pleased smile. "Yes, I do believe so. The priest himself said he was called 'High Warlock' though I am still finding it hard to believe that everyone is communicating with some 'Goddess'. I do not know the term 'warlock'. I wonder if there will be time to investigate it further once we are back in Navath. He is without a doubt your warrior equivalent, to parallel Sorin and restore energies with Cerant. I wish they were here so we could see it and have absolute confirmation. I do wonder what will happen when all five of us stand within the star."
"I could not even begin to say," Koray said. "I'm only a necromancer. I was never meant to do anything more than purify ghosts."
"You are entirely too powerful not to put that power to greater use," Neikirk replied. "Has no one else ever remarked upon it?"
Koray shook his head. "Of course not. Who would? Other necromancers? They have noted I have a great deal of ability, but all the power in the world does not get us invited to supper after we purify a house, or into the warmth and safety of a church. It gets us run off or beaten, forced to sleep in the woods or in graveyards. Who cares how powerful I am?"
"I see," Neikirk said. "At least you have support and recognition now and can put all that power to use. It will make your fellow necromancers happy to have a leader and acceptance, yes?"
"Yes," Koray said, too tired to point out that he wasn't a leader—wasn't even certain he would have a home anymore, save for his sad little cabin in the mountains. No matter what Emel said, no matter what the Goddess said, Koray would not forget that look on Sorin's face or the weight of the manacles around his wrists.
At the end of it all, he was still quite certain that his place in the Court of Five would be to return to his nomadic life. Once, that thought would have made him happy, brought relief. Thanks to Sorin, damn him, all it left Koray feeling was a sharp pang of loss. "I am going to bed," he said. "Goodnight, Neikirk."
"Goodnight," Neikirk replied.
Fetching a bedroll from a pile that had been near the center of camp—where only a few currently remained— Koray returned to the fire and spread it out, then lay down and wrapped himself tightly in his robes and cloak. Though he was exhausted, his mind constantly repeated the confrontation with Sorin and Emel's words, all the while taunting him with a hope he did not dare indulge because he truly did not know what he would do if he never reconciled with Sorin. Sleep, when it finally came, was restless and full of nightmares.
He woke feeling worse than when he had gone to bed, but it was not the worst he had felt in a long life of travel and sleeping in uncomfortable places. Whatever his internal turmoil, at least he was not burdened with fresh wounds from a demon attack or the bruises of a particularly unpleasant villager.
Around him, the camp was slowly stirring, the morning still dark, heavy fog making it even more difficult for the rising sun to penetrate. Koray bundled up his sleeping roll and handed it off to the men packing up camp, then went to the river to clean up. The cold water banished the cobwebs of sleep and he trudged back to camp to find food.
He had just finished a breakfast of trail bread and dried fruit when one of the knights brought him a horse. "We brought several spares and this is the quietest of the lot," the knight said with a grin.
Koray rolled his eyes that his loathing for horses had somehow become common knowledge, but managed to tell the man thank you. He mounted up when the others began to do so and resigned himself to a long, miserable day of riding.
Snow began to fall not long after they started moving, and Koray tried desperately not to think of how much he wished he was back in the castle—or even better, in bed, drowning in the warmth of blankets and Sorin's touch.
That thought set his cheeks to burning and Koray tried to shake his head to clear it, not even really certain what he wanted anyway. There had been a few necromancers who expressed interest and a couple of villagers who had made it clear they would let him stay for certain favors … but Koray had never been interested in the former and would have far preferred to kill the latter. Loneliness was a constant presence in his life, but he'd never felt it so acutely before. He wanted to throttle Sorin just because he had taken the loneliness away and then thrown it back at him.
Koray sighed again and tried to focus on his surroundings. They, however, were unbearably dull. The road was empty save for their party, and the nearest farmhouse was only a distant curl of smoke rising to meet the overcast sky.
Sticking a hand out, Koray let several flakes of snow land and melt upon his palm. Normally, he would be tucked away in his cabin, living off travel staples carefully collected and stored throughout the rest of the year.
His stomach promptly growled, thoughts of food reminding Koray far too sharply of just one more thing he'd gotten used to at the castle. He rolled his eyes at himself, disgusted that he could not stop dwelling. Though he dreaded the argument, he half-wished Sorin was there just so they could have it done with and he would be free to go on his way with the royal castle irrevocably behind him.
A cry to halt pulled Koray from his thoughts and he rode closer to the front of the group when he heard more riders pounding down the road toward them. He reached Emel and the others just as Brekk landed beside them and what proved to be thirty or so Navathian soldiers—a handful of them alchemists—reached them.
"Why do you approach our border?" demanded a man with marks that Koray did not know but hazarded made the man some sort of officer. "We have done nothing to merit a band of Vindeian soldiers approach us looking as though they are ready for war."
Emel gave the man an impatient look. "We are at war—with demons. We are of late at war with white-skinned demons that seem to be coming not from the Lost North, but from Navath, Captain. We are seeking answers and if I must fight my way past you to obtain them then I will do so."
The captain sneered and gestured. Behind him, the array of Navathian soldiers drew their weapons or pulled out glittering vessels to cast incantations.
"I am Captain Emel of the Holy Paladins," Emel said. "I am not here to fight unless I have no other recourse. All we want is answers."
"We have nothing to do with those white demons. They're something new and foul. Clearly the war you are fighting is a war you are losing, paladin," the captain replied scathingly. "Do not come here trying to blame us for it."
"Captain," Neikirk said, drawing up beside Emel. The captain stared in surprise as he realized there was an alchemist among them. "I know for a fact those white demons are the victims of alchemy." He withdrew a small book from a pouch at his waist and tossed it over to him. The captain caught it deftly. "The last three pages of writing," Neikirk said. "Consult your Master Alchemist there if you are not familiar with the markings. Someone in Navath is attempting to use demons as vessels and, if I not mistaken, attempting to make them puppets at the same time. As soldiers go, they make poor imitations of paladins. And the attempts, while admirable, are heavily flawed."
"I'm perfectly capable of reading alchemical markings," the captain replied and flipped to the indicated pages. His expression darkened as he read over Neikirk's notes. After a moment, he tossed the book to an alchemist who had drawn close to him—the Master Alchemist Neikirk had indicated.
As she read over the notes he looked even more alarmed than the captain had. "If this is true—" she broke off at the look the captain shot him. Turning to Neikirk, she tossed the book back and asked, "An incantation like that would take days to set and be even more painful, I would imagine, than your Eye. If Navath is responsible, and they must be if your notes are true, then it is not sanctioned work."
"Come on," the captain said irritably. "At the very least this matter will have to be taken to the crown. But you had better—is that a demon? And that is a necromancer. Why are you speaking of us mucking with demons when you practically have two of them right in your midst!"
Emel's eyes flashed violet as he moved to stand between the captain and Koray and Brekk. "They are friends, and though he looks a demon, Brekk is quite human. They will both be treated with respect, or you will learn manners at the end of my sword."
"I will not permit a demon and a half-demon to enter the royal palace," the captain replied. "So far as I am concerned, they can go and forage in the refuse piles with the rest of the vermin. I'm doing more than enough by putting up with the rest of you."
"You—" Emel adjusted his grip on his reins, hand flying to his sword—but then Brekk reached out and grabbed his leg. Emel scowled at him, but Brekk only stared patiently back. "Fine," Emel eventually bit out. "But I will not continue to tolerate anyone calling either of you vermin."
Brekk smiled fleetingly. "I know, but it's better to keep the peace. Koray and I will withdraw from the group, but we'll be close should you need us."
"Be careful," Emel said softly before turning to Koray. "You as well, High Necromancer. I know full well you will let yourself come to harm if you feel it necessary and I do not want to be forced to explain to the High Paladin why I let his lover come to harm."
Koray started to give that the reply it deserved, but then read the message in Emel's eyes. Nearby, the captain and some of the other Navathian soldiers had looked taken aback at hearing the nigh-legendary High Paladin had a necromancer lover. "I'll have a care," he said, not meaning a word of it.
Honestly, soldiers made no sense to him. It was their job to come to harm, but they took offense if anyone else did the same thing. All that time they spent knocking one another about in the yard must cause further damage to their already struggling minds.
Brekk moved to join him, and he and Koray stood aside as the others rode off. Koray's head began to throb, a silent urging to follow after them. "I was going to do that anyway," he muttered and winced when that just got him a sharp spiking pain behind his left eye.
"I don't like this," Brekk said, rubbing absently at his chest. "Something is amiss. I'm not normally inclined toward fear in such situations, but right now I feel it acutely."
Koray cocked his head thoughtfully. "Is it primarily in your chest? Hot, pulsing?"
Brekk's mouth twitched. "It is patently obvious you do not discuss hot, pulsing things very often."
"Answer the question," Koray snapped, ignoring his burning cheeks.
"Yes."