"That's an amusing question coming from a man who barely sleeps more than a couple of hours a night and is starting to look darker and gloomier than me," Koray replied. "I'm fine, you halfwit paladin."
A real smile curved Sorin's face, and damn the man, Koray would never figure out why his being so rude and mean made Sorin
smile.
But Goddess, he was glad that hadn't changed.
If only all their interactions would go back to feeling … however it was they had felt. Every word exchanged felt tenuous. They were both holding back, but Koray did not know how to let go. He thought he might if there was some sign from Sorin that it was all right for everything to go back to normal.
Sorin stepped forward, as if to go past him, but then hesitated and stopped in front of him instead. Koray's breath caught in his throat as he looked into Sorin's eyes, recognizing the spark there. It was only a tiny ember of the fire they'd once held, but damn it that was still
something.
He waited, tense and eager, when Sorin seemed to lean in—and flinched when he abruptly changed his mind and with an awkward nod, left Koray alone and returned to his own horse. Koray swallowed, all his earlier hope snuffed like a candle. Clearly he had imagined that ember, or Sorin had thought better of it.
Did making amends not mean as much as Koray had thought? Were they to be only comrades after all and never … never more? Koray stared after Sorin, wishing he knew how to fix everything. How to make Sorin want him again. But how was he supposed to do that when he still did not know why Sorin had ever wanted him to begin with?
Koray mounted his horse and without another word rode back down the line to rejoin his necromancers. He was surprised when, a few minutes later, one of the former demons joined them, escorted by a paladin. "High Necromancer, this one can still see ghosts, but the High Warlock says he does not fit amongst his men."
"Then he must fit with us," Koray agreed, and dismissed the paladin with a nod of thanks. Turning to his new necromancer, he asked, "What is your name?"
"Stray."
"Welcome to the necromancers," Koray said. "You can ride with me for now, come on." He held out a hand and Stray took it, awkwardly climbing up behind Koray and cautiously settling his arms around Koray's waist.
Refusing to show how strange he found the entire situation—that he was an authority figure, that he was riding with yet another foreign demon—Koray kneed his horse into motion as the group resumed moving. Snow began to fall heavily, but they pushed on.
They stopped to rescue demons six more times before the royal castle finally came into view. It was late at night, the snow still fell relentlessly, and Koray was so tired everything began to blur. When they finally reached the castle, greeted by the sound of the horns, he could have wept from the relief. Ecstatic cries came from the gate towers, and minutes later the drawbridge lowered to let them in.
Getting across it seemed to take an age, and Koray very nearly did cry to at last be back within the walls of the castle. The slamming of the drawbridge being drawn up again was a welcome sound, as though promising they would not have to leave again anytime soon. The inner ward teemed with people, soldiers and servants rushing out to help the new arrivals. Joyous cries and exclamations filled the night, bouncing off the walls, creating so great a din that Koray cringed away from it after a few minutes.
"The necromancers can have quarters in the cathedral," Cerant said abruptly, appearing seemingly out of nowhere at Koray's elbow. "Did you want quarters there as well, or are you returning to your old room?"
Koray's mouth tightened at the question, but he only asked one in return. "There is room enough for all my necromancers?"
Cerant grinned knowingly. "Yes, High Necromancer. Come, this way." He turned and strode off, surrounded by a cluster of priests. Koray gestured to the necromancers huddled nearby, watching everything with wide, wary eyes, and led them to the cathedral.
Bells rang in exultation at the return of those who had ventured south. Koray found himself staring in surprise more than once when various men and women stopped him to say welcome home. By the time he reached the cathedral, he was flushed and flustered and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and stay there.
"Welcome, necromancers," Cerant said as he climbed the altar steps, then turned around to face them. "Be at home here. We will get you proper accommodations tomorrow. For now, there are beds aplenty if you will follow me." Leading them to the living quarters at the back of the cathedral, he opened up several rooms and gestured. "Take your pick. Food is being prepared in the great hall, but if you prefer to eat here in peace and quiet that can be arranged as well. I will leave you to get settled." He bowed and left.
"I can't believe …" one necromancer began, then shook her head and fell silent, fingers twining restlessly through a gray strand of hair.
Another necromancer grunted in agreement. "I keep waiting to be told to leave. How did you ever get them to listen, High Necromancer?"
"I gave the High Paladin very little choice in the matter," Koray said. "After a handful of soldiers beat me, he gave the entire castle very little choice in the matter." A smile briefly curved his mouth, but then slipped away. "If you have any troubles, let me know immediately, but I think you will have none. I'll be in the keep should you need me. Just send a page to fetch me."
They all bowed, startling him, and chorused, "Yes, High Necromancer."
"Ugh," Koray said, rolling his eyes and leaving to the sound of his necromancers laughing.
Walking back the way they'd come, he reentered the sanctuary and paused to see the others of the Court gathered there. Before he could ask why, he felt the same gentle tugging that had undoubtedly drawn them. Cerant opened the secret door and gestured them all down. Everything went completely dark as he closed the door behind him, but Brekk startled them all by summoning several soft, ghostly white balls of light.
In the secret chamber, the star was already thrumming and glowing faintly. Koray took his place, shivering as power washed over him, growing stronger with each person who joined the circle. Once they were all in place, the entire star burst into brilliant violet light, filling the room until Koray finally had to cover his eyes to protect them from it.
Then it seemed to rush out, away, spreading out from the star, from the castle. He wondered how far the pulse of energy would travel, what effect it would have—calming more demons? Perhaps saving them, or would they all have to be treated directly by Brekk?
He yawned, more exhausted than ever. The keep seemed farther away than ever, and Koray still had to figure out where exactly he was sleeping.
"Tomorrow we will have to hold a formal ceremony," Cerant said.
"And a banquet," Sorin said. "Celebration will ease more minds than pretty words—even your pretty words. But definitely tomorrow. We have … energized the star, cast out the energies that will either help demons or, I suspect, draw them to us for healing. I think all we can do right now is seek our beds and get proper rest. We're going to need it."
Cerant nodded. "Agreed. To bed I go. Coming, my dear?"
"Yes, Master," Neikirk said softly, and Koray listened with amusement as they argued over the fact that at some point Neikirk would have to stop calling Cerant 'master.'
"I can show you to Emel's room," Sorin said to Brekk. "Koray, there should be food and a bath waiting in our room."
Before Koray could reply to that, they were gone. Sighing, Koray left the secret chamber, closing the door to it before he left the cathedral and headed into the keep. The smells, the heat, even the feel of the place and all its myriad ghosts: home. His eyes stung and he blinked furiously until the stupid fit subsided.
Heading upstairs, he walked through the halls until he reached Sorin's room. He lingered outside, staring at the door, hesitating. Sorin had said … but still it felt wrong when they were … whatever they were. All he knew was what they were not: lovers, or even really friends. Had they ever been? Ugh, the man gave him a headache.
Finally giving up, at least for the moment, Koray slipped into the room. All his belongings were there, which was a welcome sight. He'd been afraid they'd been destroyed, or put somewhere else, but they were still right where they seemed to belong. Where he hoped they still belonged.
The smell of food struck him, made his stomach growl. Striding to the table, Koray nearly started eating right where he stood. With an effort, he made himself step away. He remove his weapons and equipment, setting it all aside to be cleaned later, then stripped off his clothes and stepped into the tub of steaming water in front of the fireplace. The feel of the hot water made him groan as he settled in. Oh, to be able to enjoy such warmth for hours upon end.
Thoughts of heat provoked thoughts of Sorin rose up then, making his skin heat in ways that had nothing to do with the water. He glanced at the door, half-expecting Sorin to suddenly burst in, and hastily sat up to begin cleaning. Whatever was or was not between them, he did not relish being naked should Sorin finally arrive.
By the time he was done, there was very little soap left, but he no longer felt as though he had been on the road for weeks on end without relief. Pulling on a clean robe, he sat at the table and poured a cup of wine before digging into his food with relish. When the plate was empty, he licked remaining juices from his fingers before cleaning his hands, and then drained the last of the wine in his cup. He tried to remain sitting, wait patiently for Sorin, but only a few minutes later he was up and pacing the room.
Where was Sorin? Was he avoiding Koray? The thought stung, but made sense. Maybe he had just offered the room to be polite and did not really want …
Biting back a scream of frustration, Koray climbed into bed. He would wait for the bastard and they would finally talk, and then he would go to his own room. But he would be damned if he continued to tolerate the chilly air while he waited. Settling beneath the blankets, Koray tried to keep his mind occupied with other thoughts, but even pondering his necromancers and what he was going to do with them did not long distract him from Sorin. Damn it, he wanted Sorin. He wanted to know if all the hope and frustration was leading to reconciliation or if he would have to figure out how to move on. Eventually, exhaustion got the better of him.
He jerked awake at the sound of the morning bells ringing. Sitting up and shoving back the messy tangle of his hair, he remembered where he was and looked around anxiously. Sorin wasn't there. Koray swallowed the hurt that rose up, cold and sharp. His face burned with humiliation when he realized he had waited all night—fallen asleep waiting—for a man who had never come.
Shoving the blankets away, Koray slid out of bed and looked around dully, cataloguing all the items that would need to be removed and taken to his own room. He wondered if there was still a room to spare, or if he would have to take a room in the cathedral.
Opening the chest where he stored his clothes, he drew out fresh clothes and set aside the robe he'd slept in. When he was dressed, Koray dug a comb out of the chest and began the laborious task of untangling his hair. It was only as he went to sit by the fire to do it that he noticed what he should have from the start: Sorin's discarded clothes, a finished plate of breakfast, and a note to Sorin from an outlying village requesting assistance with food shortages.
Koray looked around the room and saw something else he should have noticed: both sides of the bed had been slept in. Sorin had been there. Sorin had slept in the same bed. Koray swallowed at the emotions that struck him with the realization, and for once the hope clawing at his chest did not come laced with despair.
Finished with his hair, but suddenly too impatient to braid it, Koray left it loose and pulled on his boots. The castle was bustling with energy and was more crowded than he ever remembered it being. Down in the great hall there was nary a seat to be found—until Brekk beckoned him to the high table and gestured for him to take a seat.
"I am never going to get used to being in authority," Koray muttered as a servant came up to serve him a plate of food and a cup filled with hot ale.
Brekk laughed softly. "Try going from being a demon to being High Warlock. Speaking of which, I believe there is already talk of expanding the castle grounds to include additional rooms for the alchemists, warlocks, and necromancers. Certainly the castle is enormous, but it cannot accommodate the sudden, vast influx of people and three new branches of magic and defense. They say that the castle will be like the long lost castle of old. I've been hearing the old stories all day. Quite fascinating."
"Yes," Koray agreed. "I did not know many of them before I came here, but all the reading I did after I arrived taught me a lot."
Grimacing, Brekk said, "Yes, reading. Not a skill I needed as a demon."
It really should have occurred to him that Brekk would not be able to read. "I would offer to help you, but I'm not very good at it myself. I'm sure Cerant has already taken that duty upon himself, anyway."
"He has," Brekk said, smiling reluctantly. "Though where we will have time, I do not know. Speaking of time, the ceremony introducing the Court of Five and announcing our reclaiming Navath begins at sunset."
"Wonderful," Koray said, stifling a groan. "I came here because the Goddess wanted me to banish a ghost, not because I wanted to become a leader." He stabbed his porridge with his spoon. "But I know better than to argue with Her Holiness."
Brekk laughed. "Indeed. Sadly, not everyone is so accepting. Our prisoners are still putting up quite the protest. I think the former queen will have to be exiled. The alchemists … their fate is still quite uncertain. Cerant and Sorin hope they can be saved, but I do not share their faith."
"Nor I," Koray agreed. "I suppose we shall see. Anything else I should be braced for?" Did he have anything suitable for such a ceremony? Was he expected to do anything as High Necromancer? He scowled and decided not to think about it.