Mickey Reichert - Flight of the Renshai

"Of course not." Ra-khir finally took the initiative, returning his son's embrace fiercely. "Kedrin loves you.You know that, Savi."

"Do I?" Saviar's soft question was lost in the folds of Ra-khir's tunic, full of his unique scent, unusually strong. He had not moved from the swing in days. "Then how could he make such a horrible mistake?"

"Saviar." Ra-khir held the young man away so he could peer into his face again. "I have no right to second-guess a man who is not only my father, but my commanding officer."

Saviar snorted and dodged his father's gaze.

"What does that mean, Saviar?"

Now, Saviar met his father's green eyes savagely. "It means you've never shied away from a challenge before. Why would you pick now to become meek over an issue of clear injustice?"

Ra-khir sucked in a deep breath, held it a moment, then let it out slowly. He repeated the process before speaking. "Savi, your grandfather is a man of the greatest honor. I do not know exactly how he came to the conclusion he did; but I do know that, if he made such a decision, it is the fairest one possible."

Saviar did not appreciate the answer. He turned his head to look out over the Renshai village, with its randomly spaced cottages and cluttered battlegrounds. "You know what I think?"

Ra-khir did not bother to answer the obviously rhetorical question.

So, Saviar continued even without direct encouragement. "I think Captain Kedrin didn't want to get accused of bias because his grandsons are Renshai. I think he deliberately ruled against us to avoid appearing influenced. That's what I think."

"You do your grandfather an enormous disservice."

Saviar gave no quarter. "Perhaps he deserves it."

Ra-khir took another drawn-out breath. "If you truly believe that-"

"I do."

"-then you should take it up with Kedrin."

Saviar jerked his attention back to his father. "Can't you?"

"I'm not the one questioning his decision."

The response floored Saviar. He spoke through gritted teeth. "Are you saying… you think he was right?"

"I'm saying only that it's not like him to be wrong. On anything. And when it comes to honor…"

Saviar ground his jaw, afraid what might emerge from his own mouth if he spoke again.

"… no one can better him. Did you know he did not defend himself against a false charge of treason because doing so would have harmed the honor of Bearn?"

Saviar could not stop himself from speaking in anger. "So he's not so much biased as stupid."

"Saviar!"

Saviar looked away, determined not to apologize.

"You're not too old for a switching."

Saviar did not care. "Beat me, if you wish. It won't change the fact that Kedrin is wrong."

"Right or wrong, he is your grandfather and the Knight-Captain. He deserves your respect."

Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, Saviar understood the need to become lost in the routine of the rocking swing for days at a time. "Of what use to him, my respect or the lack of it? Soon enough, he'll never see me again."

"Never see you?" Ra-khir's grip tightened. "Of course, he'll see you. He'll see you every day."

Saviar could only stare. In the depths of his grief, Ra-khir had apparently become delusional. "Papa, I'm banished. I have to leave the Westlands. Forever."

Ra-khir stood up,still clutching Saviar's shoulders where he crouched on the swing seat. "Son, no.You don't have to go anywhere."

It made no sense. "I don't?"

"Your mother is dead.You're mine now, mine alone. And I'm not Renshai."

Stunned silent, Saviar could only stare.

"I thought you knew, Saviar. We cleared it.You and your brothers are staying."

"We are?"

"Calistin can keep your Renshai maneuvers fresh. And you can start your knight training, Saviar. That is, if you're still interested."

"I can?" Saviar shook free of his stunned trance, needing to communicate more than two syllable questions. "You've discussed this with Calistin and Subikahn?" He could not believe his brothers had not even mentioned it.

"Well, Subikahn's still in the East, but I'm sure he'll choose to stay with you. And Calistin…" Ra-khir paused thoughtfully. "I guess I haven't talked with him about it yet, either. I just assumed-"

Assumed he'd choose blood family over Renshai. Calistin? Saviar shook his head. His father was dreaming.

"Well, Calistin's been a man a long time now. He doesn't need the tribe to do as he wishes. I doubt anyone could make him go anywhere if he doesn't want to."

Ra-khir's choice of words hurt. "I'd be a man, too, if the duel hadn't postponed my testing."

"Of course you would." Ra-khir's voice did not hold a hint of patronage, yet Saviar's insecurity added it. "But this works out better in one way. Since you're still considered a child, you belong with your only living parent. Here, in Erythane."

In Erythane. Saviar could scarcely believe it. What would the Fields of Wrath become without Renshai? How could he live from day to day in a home filled with strangers stepping on the ghosts of his past? The same father who had so heroically won Saviar the right to become Renshai was taking it all away in an instant. "But… I'm Renshai."

"And you always will be." Ra-khir's hands dropped away. "But you're also my son, a child without a living Renshai parent. The king himself has decided you can stay."

Saviar kicked at the ground, restarting the rocking he had denied his father only moments earlier. Ideas swirled through his mind, unable to form a coherent pattern. In the blink of an eye, an Erythanian had leaped or fallen from a tree, and the entire world had changed forever. For the first time in as long as he could remember, Saviar felt like a lost child, as vulnerable as a newborn kitten. "Papa, please. Please talk to Grandpapa." He did not know what else to say. "Please."

The swing sang out its familiar, rhythmical squeak. Ra-khir slowly shook his head. "That," he said in a voice barely above a whisper, "is something you must do for yourself."

The front door to the cottage banged open, awakening Saviar from a deep sleep he did not remember entering. Before he could think, he found himself on his feet, sword in hand. The instant the hilt settled against his callused palm, he no longer felt naked, though he still wore no clothing. He ran into the main room to find Calistin already there, dressed in his sleeping gown and clutching the weapon their mother had left him.

Thialnir stood in the doorway, framed by moonlight. "We're leaving now."

Saviar stared. "Now?" Cold night air washed across his naked flesh, deeply chilling.

Calistin added, "But they gave us a fortnight to prepare."

A frown scored Thialnir's massive features. "The merchants are refusing to sell to Renshai. The sooner we leave, the farther we can travel before our stocks run out."

Saviar shook the last vestiges of sleep from his brain, trying to comprehend what Thialnir had told them. "The Erythanian merchants won't-"

Thialnir interrupted. "Our money's not silver enough for them anymore."

Calistin narrowed his eyes. "Are our swords sharp enough? Renshai don't need money."

"No." Saviar saw the danger. "There's enough Renshai prejudice. We don't want our last impression on Erythane to be of slaughter and theft. Better we do as Thialnir suggests and leave quietly in the night."

Thialnir looked between the boys. Clearly, he preferred Calistin's idea, had probably considered it long before the youth had mentioned it, but had already chosen the wiser, more frustrating course. "Colbey committed us to a new way: swords for hire. He wanted us to win over, not skewer, the hearts and minds of the West."

Calistin snorted. "See where that strategy has brought us? Three hundred years later, we still suffer from the same misplaced hatred. The same gods-damned bigotry. The early Renshai had the right idea: Kill for the joy of battle; take what we need from the corpses."