Mickey Reichert: Flight of the Renshai

"Come on," Magnus finally said, placing an arm across Calistin's shoulders. He reeked of blood and death, of sweat and steel, of salt and wind. "Let's wash up and get to that meeting."

"Meeting?" Calistin gave the Aeri general a sideways look. "I'm not an officer."

"Sure you are." Steel still clanged along the beach as the last battles raged to their foregone conclusion. Without the leadership of their only Kjempemagiska, the pirates seemed confused and uncertain. "You're the captain of…" Valr pursed his lips. "The captain of… my… Renshai."

Calistin's brows rose. It seemed petty to argue over the pronoun "my" when they had just laughed off a prearranged battle to the death. "So, basically, I command… myself." Calistin stopped there, not bothering to mention what they both already knew. Once the war in Bearn ended, they would have to go their separate ways, not only because Calistin already had a commitment to his own people, but because all Renshai were banned from the Northlands.

"Well, someone should. And I can't think of anyone else you'd listen to."

Deliberately keeping his thoughts off Treysind, Calistin forced a smile. For the moment he wanted to enjoy this one small alliance, a tiny victory in a crusade that spanned centuries.

The door to his sickroom eased open silently, yet the movement still awakened King Tae Kahn. Even a recovery from near-fatal injuries failed to steal the wariness ingrained in him nearly since birth. He remained still, as always, one eye open to a slit, just enough to catch the identity of the person who had disturbed him without revealing his awakening. He continued to breathe deeply, in the pattern of his previous sleep.

The newcomer wore the familiar black and silver of his Eastern army, without the bulk of mail or lacquered leather. Instead of the ornate helmets that served as a badge of honor for the Eastern leaders, he wore only a hat from which jutted the familiar five feathers of his highest general. By movement alone, through the slit of one eye, Tae could tell this was not General Halcone, the previous high commander of his armies. Apparently, Tae now faced Weile's acclaimed mystery general.

As the other man turned to quietly close the door, Tae opened both eyes and sat up in his bed.

The curtains to the open, fourth-story window fluttered in the breeze; then, as the door clicked closed, went dormant.Tae discerned as many details as possible in the moments before the man turned to face him. First, he was a bit shorter and far leaner than Halcone; and his movements demonstrated a grace and quickness that the former high general did not share. The visible flesh at his wrists and neck looked far too pale to fit the swarthy East, and the hair that feathered out from beneath his hat was short and brilliant yellow. A Northman, Tae realized, and that only confused him. Why would Weile Kahn put a Northman at the head of our troops? Why would the men accept and follow him?

Tae eased himself from the covers, though it seemed pointless. He did not yet have the strength to do much more than hurl himself out the window to his death.

The man in Eastern silver and black turned. He swept his hat from his head to his hand.

Tae recognized him instantly and found himself incapable of keeping that knowledge to himself, "Talamir?" Myriad questions sprang to mind, but he did not voice them.

"Yes, Sire." Talamir moved nearer and bowed.

Tae only stared. "But you're… you're…"

"Dead?" Talamir supplied.

It was the right word, but clearly stupid, so Tae discarded it. "Obviously not.You're… my… general?"

"Yes, Sire." Talamir came even closer, standing at the side of Tae's bed. He looked fresh and strong. If he had taken part in the long battle, he had suffered no injuries and cleaned up well. "I couldn't use the armor, of course, or the beautiful helmet."

"Of course." Tae knew the laws of Renshai well. The answer to all his questions came to him in a rush of logic. "This was my father's idea."

Talamir shuffled his feet, touched his hilt. "I'm not permitted to say, my lord."

"Of course not. Nothing Weile Kahn does is ever 'on the record.' " Tae forced a smile. He knew what had to come next but had spent too much time flirting with death to care. "Does Subikahn know… you're… alive?"

"Yes, Sire."

"Good."

Talamir's brows rose. "Is it?"

Tae suppressed a sigh and tried not to hesitate. "Yes, it's good. Subikahn will need someone to look after him, someone to love him, after I'm dead."

"Dead, Sire?" Talamir continued to stare at Tae, though he still avoided the king's eyes. "But the healers told me you're past the point of uncertainty.Your wounds are definitely healing, Sire."

Imorelda crawled out from under the bed, yawning widely and stretching each leg.*I told you.*

Tae ignored the cat. "True, but you've come to kill me, haven't you?"

Talamir back stepped. "Sire?"

Imorelda stopped in mid-stretch and jumped onto the bed, as if to defend her master.*Sire?* she repeated, equally surprised.

Tae merely studied Talamir, trying to catch the gaze that kept dodging his. The Renshai still saw him as an authority figure, one he obviously intended to obey.

Talamir cleared his throat. "Sire, I have no intention of committing regicide, even were you not the beloved father of my… my…" His voice faded into nothingness, clearly worried to offend by whatever word he chose.

"Beloved?"The word caused Tae physical pain, and his hand went to the agony still brewing in his lung. "Talamir, you must know by now. Subikahn hates me."

"Never, Sire."

"He hates me for what I did to you. To both of you." Tae closed his eyes. "And without my son, I have no reason to go on."

A claw dug through the blankets into Tae's leg, and Imorelda glided up to rest beneath his arm.*What about me? Aren't I worth something?*

Wincing, eyes flashing open, Tae took Imorelda into his arms.*Of course.You're worth your weight in fish heads, my darling; but Subikahn is my son.*

Talamir bit his lip, as if trying to contain words that burned his tongue. In the end, they slipped out, "I didn't rape him. I would never do that to anyone, but especially not to the one I love more than my own self."

Tae raised a hand to stem the tide. "I know. Subikahn convinced me, and I've had several days lying here with nothing to do but think. It took me a while to figure out why you confessed to a crime you never committed."

"I did it for Subikahn."

"Yes." For a long time, the Renshai's selflessness had defied Tae's understanding. "You did it to protect Subikahn, to save him from execution."

Talamir nodded. "I was dead either way, whether for rape or for consensual sodomy. But, in the latter case, you would have had to execute Prince Subikahn with me."

"I would never have done that."

Talamir looked directly at the floor now. "I couldn't take that chance."

Imorelda purred beneath Tae's touch.

"But that's not why I came to see you, Sire." Talamir continued to avoid Tae's gaze, clearly uncomfortable and needing to change the subject. "As your general, I came to inform you of the officers' meeting taking place in the Strategy Room. It's my job to either accompany you or represent you."

Tae considered. Matrinka had kept him apprised of the war as it progressed, and he knew this phase had all but ended. "With help, I think I can make it. Someone needs to tell them not to celebrate too quickly, that the next round we'll face more men and many more giants."

Talamir stiffened and finally looked toward Tae again. "Next round? You mean… it's not over?"

"Not nearly." Tae remembered the jumble of information he had taken from the pirates' minds. "They underestimated us once, but they will not do so again. They made a lot of assumptions and fatal mistakes, expecting us to have no magic, for example. Thinking they would find us as consistent as their alsona. They did not expect the Northmen, believing their lands uninhabitable. Though they had a bit of experience with Renshai, they did not anticipate them organized and in such numbers. Our enemy came at us cocky and overconfident, but the loss of one of their Kjempemagiska has taught them otherwise. Next time, they will attack in true force; and, without the elves and their magic, we will be overcome."