Chapter 191: Book 3 Chapter 54: The Best of the Worst

Dantes arrived back at Vixen with Jacque cradled carefully in his arms and Jacopo sleeping in the hood of his coat. Argenta and Alby had kept his son safe and protected him through until the end of the siege, a kindness that he would remember.

He pushed the door open to find the Vixen buzzing with activity. Those whores who’d been left behind were acting as nurses. Tearing bandages from cloth and wrapping them around those men and women who’d been injured. The tables had been converted to beds on which the wounded could rest. ZIlly was organizing her staff to have them help, a massive white wooden bow sitting behind her at the bar, and Hema and Clay were doing what they could to provide herbs and poultices that could help with everyone’s wounds. Dantes had a store of healing potions, but from what he could tell they had already been used up where they could.

“Daken!” yelled Alessa as she ran across the room and scooped up the baby in her arms.

Dantes let him go easily and smiled as Alessa wrapped him up in her arms, showering him in dozens of kisses as she made sure that he was okay. He’d been sleeping when Dantes had arrived, but started to cry a bit from all the fuss.

“He’s okay. I’m glad to see that you are too.”

She shook her head. “My face was broken, but Vera insisted I take one of the healing potions. That bastard.” She clenched her sharp teeth and looked at him. “Tell me he suffered. Tell me he screamed as he died.”

Dantes thought back to Godfrey’s weeping as the rats tore into his guts and began eating him from within.

“He did.”

“Thank you, Dantes.” She rocked Jacque a little more. “He’s lucky to have you as a father.”

Dantes shook his head. “He wouldn’t have been in danger if he wasn’t my son. It was my problem to solve.”

She laughed. “I wouldn’t have had him if his father was a normal man. That’s as much my responsibility as yours.”

“Well, how about I be the one who broods about it anyway? Like some sullen adventurer down at the tavern who failed to save a maiden in trouble.”

“If you insist on bearing all the responsibility, I can live with that. Maybe I’ll write a song about it.”

Dantes smiled and gave Jacque a kiss on the top of his head as Alessa went back to her chambers to put Jacque back down for sleep.

Dantes started going to each of the injured people one by one. He focused on their wounds, and channeled energy to the minute parts of them to aid their healing. He was exhausted, but these men had all proved their loyalty. They’d fought for him, and in some cases had been willing to die for him. He remembered seeing Zak’s head tossed onto the ground in front of him by Godfrey and clenched his fist for a moment. He was a good man. Loyal, knew himself, had a kind of clarity that Dantes was envious of.

He looked around as he healed another of his men to see Jayson and Jayk in the corner with a bottle of brown each, sipping as they sat. Jayson’s eyes were wet, but Jayk’s just looked hollow and tired.

Dantes walked over to them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. He healed each of them, though they were both in okay shape, at least physically. They all exchanged a glance and Dantes went behind the bar to grab his own bottle and three small glasses. He filled all three of them, and put one in front of each of them. He lifted his.

“To Zak. The best of the worst. May we meet again.”

Jayson smiled a bit and raised his glass.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Jayk choked up for a moment, but raised his own glass too.

The three glasses clinked together and were swiftly emptied. Dantes patted them both on the back one last time, and then returned to his healing. When he was finished at the bottom floor, he climbed up to the second floor, where he saw Vera tending to Vampa in the VIP booth. Vampa’s armor had been carefully removed and placed on the table, and Vera was carefully wrapping a bandage around his midsection.

Dantes notices a massive new bangle on her arm. It appeared to be solid gold with silver flowers dancing across it, their petals made of fine gems. When she moved, the flowers did too, as if being blown by the wind.

“I’m glad to see that you’re both okay.” He’d known they were alive of course, since he’d been watching them since Jacopo repaired their locus connections, but he wasn’t lying. Seeing them okay in person did make him glad.

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Vera stood up and wrapped Dantes in a hug. “It’s good to see you too.

Dantes squeezed back, and exchanged a nod of acknowledgement with Vampa.

“I see you managed to get some new jewelry in the midst of all of this,” he said as they separated, pointing to her new bangle.

She looked at it, with a soft smile on her face. “It’s an engagement band. This is what’s traditional back in Vampa’s homeland.”

Dantes smiled widely. “You’re getting married? That’s wonderful.” He looked at Vampa. “Is this what you were saving for?”

“Yes.”

“I see why you wanted to earn it.” Dantes wouldn’t have done the same, but he could still understand the intention.

Jacopo perked up as well, having woken from all of the stopping and starting Dantes had done while he was healing.

“Vampa and Vera are binding themselves to one another?” he asked.

“Yes. I’ve explained marriage to you before, right?”

“Yes. I am glad for them.”

“Really? That doesn’t seem like you.”

“For them. This is the right thing. When he was with me in Uptown, I could sense the deep ache he felt for her and she… I wouldn’t have been able to pull off what we did in Uptown without her guidance. I want her to be happy.”

Dantes turned his attention back to them. “Jacopo wishes you the best as well.”

Vera smiled and stroked Jacopo’s fur a few times, and he exchanged a nod with Vampa.

Dantes did what he could to heal Vampa before moving on to his audience chamber. Murk, his sister, and Dantes’s remaining hound were sleeping in a pile. The hound whimpered occasionally, and Murk and his sister would wrap themselves closer around him or lick his fur to comfort him.

Dantes leaned down to pat the hounds side, offering what comfort he could as he exchanged a nod with Murk.

“I’m grateful for your help.”

Murk nodded his muzzle. “We are of the same pack. My aid should be expected when I sense that you’re in trouble.”

Dantes nodded back to him, and made his way back into his chambers in the back of the building. He wanted to head straight back to his bed so that he could collapse into it, but there was at least one more stop he needed to make. He went to the spare bedrooms toward the back where Felix and Wane had been staying since the Academy was sealed. He opened the door to Felix’s room where he saw Merle, Orebus, and Wane sitting around a sleeping Felix, talking in hushed tones.

“How is he?” asked Dantes as he stepped inside.

“He needed one of the health potions, and even with that he’s hurt,” said Wane.

Dantes went over to him and began to heal him. He stumbled a bit and Merle steadied him by grabbing his shoulder.

“You alright?”

“Better than Felix is.” He shook his head and finished doing what he could, noting some more color in the enchanter’s cheeks. “I can’t believe he tried to help take on Godfrey.”

“It may have been self preservation,” noted Wane, “But I think he fancies a few of the girls that were down there with him.”

“No better motivator,” said Dantes with a smile. He leaned heavily against a desk in the corner. “I take it, you succeeded in your coup?” he asked.

Merle smiled. “The Academy is in control of those who prioritize magic over money, possibly for the first time.”

“So did you kill councilor Kline?”

Merle shook his head. “No. We simply made him see our point of view.”

“So he’s under your control?”

Merle nodded.

“And what excuse will he be giving the council for his absence and the sealing?”

“The truth,” said Orebus. “A number of rogue mages attempted to take over the Academy, and there was a purge.”

Dantes nodded. “I’m just grateful you both showed up when you did.”

He nodded. “We could see what was going on outside of the seal, but there was a delay of several weeks. By the time we saw an army approaching the city, well we knew we needed to bring it down a bit sooner than we wanted to.”

“So, you control a member of the council, eh? I may be asking some favors of you then.”

Merle smiled. “As long as you don’t mind us doing the same.”

Dantes smiled and held out his hand, Merle clasped it tightly. Dantes left the room, and headed, finally, to his own bedroom.

Syn was waiting there for him. She stood as he entered and they embraced, sharing a deep kiss and squeezing one another so tightly that it became hard to breathe.

“I know you have a lot of questions for me.”

Dantes shook his head. “Not tonight I don’t. Just promise me that some version of you will be here when I wake up so that I can go to sleep.”

She ran a hand through his hair. “I promise.”

Dantes smiled and took Jacopo, who’d fallen back asleep in his hood, and placed him gently in his nest. He tossed off his boots, stripped of his blood and dust covered clothes, and laid down on his soft bed. He fell asleep before his head hit his pillow.

…

Dantes wasn’t floating above the table this time, he was sitting at it with Jacopo on his shoulder. In front of him was a pile of coins of all colors. To his right sat the woman in green smiling fiercely, and to his left was the man in blue with a smug smirk. Each of them had a hand on his shoulder as they dragged the pot toward him.

In the distance, he could see the woman in black, a river of tears flowing behind her. She’d been such a late player to the game, or perhaps she’d always been there, but hidden away. A little closer, smiling at all of them, was the man in black. His cruel smile was wider than ever and he held a thick gold coin in his hand where Dantes could see Godfrey’s screaming face on it. The man tossed the coin into the air and caught it, laughing as he walked away.

Dantes felt something else behind him. A familiar presence. He turned around to see a man wearing a full suit of armor, holding an axe. He felt relieved when he realized the man was far away, but that relief left him quickly.

The man raised his axe high in his right hand, and brought it down at his left wrist. His left hand fell for a moment, then stopped in the air as the blood flowing behind it began to shift and take shape. The armored man in silver was gone, and now there was a man wearing armor the color of blood there, holding, not an axe, but a massive serrated sword with hooks dangling from chains on the pommel. He pointed the blade at Dantes, and started walking toward him. Luckily, he awoke before it reached him.