Spellscribed: Conviction (34 page)

“Why do we keep changing tents?” Endrance asked, perplexed. The were-light of his weakest mote of light fluttered slowly about his tent.

“Change of pace. I think.” Tanya said, lying down next to him. Once they had ducked into their tents, Endrance had cut the air spell and he was focusing on recovering as much power as possible over the rest of the night. “Also, we all want to spend time with you, and the set up with the tents is the perfect opportunity to get some one on one time with each of us.”

Endrance smiled, pulling the blanket over the both of them. There wasn’t anything sexual about their close contact; but sharing warmth in the strangely cold desert was important for survival. “Well, I do appreciate it.” He said. “I don’t get to spend nearly as much time with you all as I had hoped.”

“True.” She said. “I’ve been with you for only a few months and I don’t know you nearly as well as the others do.”

“I’m sorry about that.” Endrance apologized. “When I first met them, I had months sharing the same home, working together to avert a great injustice from being committed to the people of Balator, and generally fighting for our survival. We had plenty of opportunity to learn about each other.” Endrance sighed. “Though to be honest, I thought for the longest time that only Anna really understood me. She was the oldest, actually at least ten years older than me. I could not doubt she saw things more clearly than I could.”

“Sounds like you loved her.” Tanya said.

“Yes. I loved her.” Endrance said. “I love all of you, in one form or another.”

Tanya seemed to be satisfied to hear him say that. “So, who else do you think understands you now, Selene?” She asked.

Endrance shook his head. “No… I don’t think so, actually.” He murmured, his expression morose. “If she did get me, we wouldn’t have the internal issues we have. Then again, she hardly understands herself, so I guess I’m not one to judge. It was actually Bridget who surprised me.”

“Oh?” Tanya looked mildly surprised. “What did she do?”

“She listened.” He said. “Just that simple. She started listening to me babble on and on about my spells and all those little finicky details, and she managed to put her prejudice of magic aside and reason through what I was talking about. She also talked to me like a person, without any of her ego or any kind of emotional armor in the way.”

“I’ve always been one of Bridget’s friends, even though she’s a year older than me.” Tanya said. “She has a tender side; one that cares about the things she loves. But I think she has some emotional scars. Unlike me or Anna, she had a bad family life before she came to the Ergkinoa’s compound.” Tanya whispered, their faces only a few inches apart. “I heard that she had come to the Ergkinoa with bruises and a broken arm.”

“Oh.” Endrance whispered in reply. Though they were mostly sharing the space for warmth, being so close to her was starting to get distracting. He rolled onto his stomach, crossing his arms under his chin as he talked with her. Tanya curled up against him.

“Wow, you’re still warm.” She said, resting her head on his arm. “I can see why Selene loves being close to you at night.”

“Heh, you’re probably right.” He replied, “I would have hoped there were other qualities she enjoyed too.”

“Of that I’m sure.” Tanya said. “You’re adaptive like that. You adjust, and do what you need to, to make sure you succeed. I’m sure that also applies to romance.”

“You know, I’ve been part of Balator’s customs for almost two years now, and I still haven’t gotten used to the whole ‘multiple wives’ thing that is apparently totally okay in Balator, but completely taboo in Ironsoul.” Endrance admitted, sighing. It had been something that was still bothering him, though he had been trying to be open minded about it.

Tanya studied him for a few silent seconds before replying. “In Balator, we believe that if you are strong enough to provide for multiple dependents, then you have earned the right for you to marry them all. We only separate our marriages if they are not mutually supportive.”

“Really?” Endrance asked.

Tanya rolled her eyes, a faint smile playing on her face. “When I was a younger girl, I knew a woman who had three husbands. They were quite happy, from what I could tell.”

“Wasn’t she, you know, worried about them pursuing other women?” he asked, trying to figure out where his concerns really were.

Tanya chuckled. “I don’t think so.” She said. “If one of them stepped out of line, she’d kick his ass into next week. Though to be fair, when a barbarian is married, they give their word to be with their partners even into the next life. And you know how we are about keeping our word.”

“Yeah.” Endrance admitted softly. Anna’s face came up in his memories. “I think I do.”

“So I guess we don’t really care who you marry, unless you break an ancient tradition, or are unable to keep your word.” Tanya finished. “Like, we can’t marry anyone but the Spengur because of tradition, though many of the girls among the Ergkinoa prefer to be alone. Other than that, we really don’t have any restrictions when it comes to love and affection.”

“I guess barbarians love like they live their lives.” Endrance concluded.

“Like an avalanche?” Tanya asked. “With everything they have, and no looking back?”

Endrance grinned. “Yeah, that seems about right.” He said. He realized that he was, on some level, still clinging to his homeland’s cultural norms, and that conflict in his head was making him uneasy. “I think I feel better about us, then.” He said.

Tanya clapped him on the back. “Good!” she said. “Because if you let me wander off again, I’m not coming back.”

Endrance mock scowled at her, but was unable to get truly upset. “Why did you come back, anyway?” Endrance asked. “It’s just the two of us, so you can tell me.”

Tanya sighed. “I was a few days ride north of Ironsoul City. I had taken a cross country route because I had thought it would be the fastest way to get home. I came across this tiny little village, no more than maybe seventy people. They had this problem with a monster that lived nearby.”

“The villagers preferred to stay inside and hide when it came around. Except when I got there, I found this old man who wasn’t content to let things stay as they were. I went out with him and killed the monster.”

“What happened to the man?” Endrance asked, listening intently.

“He died fighting the monster. I survived, but you saw how close it had gotten.” Tanya explained.

“That’s incredible. How did that convince you to return?” Endrance asked.

Tanya halfheartedly shrugged. “The old man was not the strongest man in the village, but he alone was willing to go and at least try to save his people. He knew he was up against a superior threat, but he was going to do it anyway. It made me think about your troubles, and how we are in opposition of someone overwhelmingly powerful, and yet you press on.”

Endrance was confused. “That doesn’t sound like a good argument to return. In fact, that should have put more pressure on you to leave.” He stated.

Tanya shook her head. “But don’t you see? We won. With help, the old man did manage to secure his village’s safety; but if I hadn’t been there, he would have been doomed. That’s when I realized that you need me to help you. Without help, you will lose. If you have me, and I guess everyone else, you might actually have a chance of succeeding.”

Endrance closed his eyes. “I am honored by your loyalty, Tanya.” He said. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” She replied, closing her eyes.

Endrance quenched the mote of light with a thought, and they drifted off to sleep, warmed both physically and emotionally by their newfound closeness.

Days passed, and they made swift progress across the desert. Because of Endrance’s magic, they were using up less water, and they were able to almost double the amount of time it was safe for them to travel. Endrance summoned Gullin again, but that night, had to dismiss him again as he was attracting the attention of nearby hornet nests.

The sand hornets were everywhere, but it turned out they weren’t the only creatures out in the desert. Two nights in, Tanya spotted a sand hydra in the distance to the south, and they wisely decided to avoid going in that direction until they were long past it. The night before, they had encountered a small sand worm that only reached thirty feet in length. Endrance’s lightning spell made very short work of it, but they were forced to flee immediately after, as sand hornets came swarming in to pick over the corpse before they could salvage much from the creature’s bulk.

The sand worm provided ample food for the voracious insects, and they had traveled the rest of the night unimpeded. The days were getting even hotter than before, and they were soon burying their tents during the day, as well as the night.

The morning of the fifth day, they buried their tents except for the tops, which were vented to allow for air flow. Getting out of the tents had been amusing and somewhat messy, but it was much cooler underneath the burning glare of the suns. This time, Endrance was sitting with Selene, who had curled up against him. They hadn’t done much talking, but Endrance could tell there was a difference in the way she acted around him.

Now that her demonic half had yielded to his will, she no longer pushed Selene as hard as before. Instead, her intrusions into Selene’s behavior and appearance were so markedly subtle, that Endrance would have believed it a different person than before, if he hadn’t enacted the change himself. Selene was otherwise acting normally; she was chatting with him, joking around with her companions, and while her seemingly supernatural attractiveness was still present, it seemed muted to Endrance.

“Is everything okay?” Selene asked, looking up at him as they lay as low in the tent as possible. The sand beneath them was cool, but it got hotter farther up the sides. Still, it was better than being in direct sunlight.

“Yeah. I was just thinking about you.” He said, smiling at her. “It looks like the two of you have managed to work things out.”

Selene smiled back. “Yes, she’s been… easier to work with lately. And I haven’t blurted out anything rampantly sexual in a while, so that’s good.”

“You even look more like the two of you are coming closer together.” Endrance said approvingly. “Your hair and eyes have changed slightly, and you are a lot more confident than you were when I met you.”

She sighed. “Yeah.” She breathed. “I can’t believe I managed to live that way for so long. I feel so much more… free now.”

“Well, I guess you have grown much since the time I first met you.” He said. “I hope you still love me by the time this is all over.”

Selene bristled at his offhand statement. “Of course I will still love you!” she said angrily. “Don’t even joke about that.”

“Fine, fine.” Endrance replied, though he was still worried. Would she only say that because her demonic half was beholden to him? Would she even be the same person when the two halves finally did become one? He cursed his doubting, but it was there lingering, regardless of how he felt about it.

Endrance kissed her forehead.  “Hey, I’m the one being insecure here!” he protested. “But yes. I do still love you.”

“Good.” She said. “Though I think that I might have some competition now.”

“What?”

“You know Bridget’s been acting funny around you lately.”

“She’s… Bridget.”

“Yeah but she’s starting to like you. As in, like, really like you.” Selene said.

Endrance paused. “Would that be a problem?” he asked. “I mean, you’re all already technically bound to me as wives. I know I didn’t agree with it, but if I’m in the situation, then I should accept it, right?”

“But I want you all to myself!” she retorted. “She can’t have you!”

Endrance blinked at her. “Are you… messing with me?”

Selene’s jealous frown twitched, and she broke down giggling. “Yes, I am.” She said laughingly. “Bridget and I were close long before you came into the picture. I wouldn’t mind sharing, if it came down to that.”

Endrance let out a sigh of relief. “I was starting to get really confused.”

“To be honest we all talked it out one night while you were gone.” Selene said. “We’re here for you. One way or the other.”

Endrance kissed her forehead again, and held her to him as they drifted off to sleep. Though they did not share them again, Selene was in his dreams that night. The next day would begin their long run across the Sea of Glass, and then beyond that, the elven land of Salthimere.

He awoke to shrieking and screams coming from nearby, and sand pouring in on his face. He sat up, sputtering, and immediately fell back to avoid a finger-length stinger jabbing through the top of the tent at his face.

Nearby, he heard Giselle screaming along with Tanya. Bridget and Joven were shouting angrily. Endrance looked down and saw that Selene was face down on the floor of the tent, a large reddening wound on her shoulder where she had been stung three times.

Endrance was trapped in the small pocket of air surrounded by sand with a wounded ally, and several more wounded nearby. The hornets must have found them during the day, but how? He didn’t have time to think about the how right now - only what he was going to do about it.

He thrust his right hand out, palm up, half expecting to get stung but throwing power into his propulsion spell. It was time to see how well it worked, now that he had refined-