Cities of Power Ch. 07

"The Arbiter of Justice believed you would be leaving early. He and his fellow Justice Seekers would like to issue an invitation to the one who wields the hammer and any who may like to accompany him," the big man spoke formally as he addressed the group of leather clad warriors.

"Due to the nature of the work still to accomplish in this place, he has suggested that the meeting occurs on the next full moon, three weeks from this day. It is hoped that you will accept this invitation to the halls of justice as a sign of friendship and willingness to work toward a peaceful future," he licked his lips in a show of nervousness as he ended his carefully prepared speech.

"Well met," Talon said, and turned to look at Flint who rode with Kaolin.

"I cannot accept such an invitation at this time, as more pressing concerns weigh on me heavily," Flint spoke. "Please convey my apologies to the Arbiter and let him know that I will contact him once I have seen to the pressing business of my friends and family and arrange a suitable time for such a meeting." He said noncommittally.

"I will convey what you have said," the man nodded and parted the line of men, allowing the warriors to leave unhindered having relayed his message and received a response that, although was not what they had wanted, was hopeful none-the-less.

Talon had been called into the late night talks with the delegates from both Justice and Gryphon. He had expressed his deep regret for what had occurred, but had pointed out that had the black robed men of Pegasus not attacked the family of Flint he would never have come here and learned to use his hammer as a weapon rather than a tool. He had not instigated the battle, but rather came to aid those who were dying at the hands of their fellow healers.

He believed all of the men and women who followed him would have said the same during their interviews. Flint had refused to speak to anyone but the few warriors who had ridden with them and was eager to return to where Trix lay recovering from her ordeal. He would have left last night if the witch, Ayla, had not stopped him by putting him to sleep for a few hours while the Warriors took shifts to guard him against those who feared him and the power of his hammer.

Judah rode with the warriors. The time for subterfuge was over, and they rode directly into the bandit village rather than waste time in the tunnels. Flint, Emery and Talon alighted and raced inside the complex, seeking out Trix who had been so close to death when they left. Talon strode into the room noting the three beds and Jade sitting quietly beside one of them when his eyes found Trix, who was stirring from sleep at the sound of their heavy boots in the corridor.

"Talon?" she asked in a weak voice.

"I'm here," he knelt down beside the bed on which she lay and clasped her hand.

"I'm so sorry, the baby..." she couldn't finish her sentence, and she felt him lift her slightly and pull her to his chest.

"As long as I have you, I have all I need," he murmured close to her ear, not knowing how to comfort her. She had given up her whole world for him and the baby they had created, and now it was gone. Not only had she given it up, but Flint, too, had sacrificed his comfortable life in their village by escorting her to this place. Guilt weighed on him heavily as he acknowledged that his desire for the woman in his arms had started this chain of events and there was little he could do to right the wrong done to the woman he loved.

Trix finally let herself cry. She cried for the small life that had never had a chance to grow and be held in her arms. She cried for the man who held her and the brother who protected her because they had gone to war to avenge the child who might have been. She cried for the woman who was so wracked by guilt for her part in the devilish attack that she had tried to end her life, and she cried for the first time for herself. At that moment, she wanted desperately to go home and have her mother look after her, even though she knew she could never go back to see her mother again.

Flint and Emery looked on helplessly, as Talon held her until she had cried herself out and her eyes closed in exhaustion, before wandering from the room to the room they now shared.

"So, what happens now?" Emery asked, shaken by the events of the last twenty-four hours. "Should we take her home to mother?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Flint looked at his mirror image and sighed. "We've all been changed by this prophecy. I don't think she will go home willingly, and I'd rather not have to fight the warriors of Phoenix to make her go home."

"What about you?" Emery asked. "Will you seek out your forge now, or take the invitation to visit the leaders of Gryphon? I guess it's too much to ask that you will come home."

"I don't know," Flint said, shaking his head. "I don't know what it all means, this prophecy and everything that has happened. Part of me would like to believe we could just go home and pick up where we left off, but I think there is more unrest to come, and I don't want to put the village or even you in danger anymore." He hated to admit he could be the son of prophecy, but he had felt so powerful and just when facing down the black robed Night Walkers that he couldn't deny that he wasn't any longer.

"You know," Emery said, laying back on the bed, "I've always wanted to see the great hall of Justice father has been speaking about since we were little. I wouldn't even mind taking a look at this fabulous workshop that Mica keeps boasting about. If I had all that at my disposal I could do some wondrous things with Terra's bike."

"You are not eager to return home?" Flint asked carefully. He would be overjoyed to keep his brother with him, but knew what a sacrifice that would be for Emery.

"You should never have left me behind in the first place. The last time you did that was in the womb, and I followed you out into the world that day too," Emery grinned. "Besides, I watched you wield that hammer, and I think we need to make some improvements if it is to be your weapon of choice."

"Weapon of choice?" Mica asked, walking into the room without knocking. "Rumour has it that the source itself put that Warhammer in your hands and you could level a city with it. Bay swears you grew two feet before his eyes and challenged death himself to come and fight you." Mica laughed. "You look like the same old butthead to me," he shrugged. He could see the toll, however, that the battle and long ride had taken on both of his brothers as they turned as one to look at him.

"I don't think he grew two feet, but he stood up straighter, which helps," Emery mused. "The rest of that story is pretty much true," he nodded thoughtfully as Flint closed his eyes and shook his head.

"You think you're the source now?" Flint groaned.

"The source of your weapon," Emery chuckled.

"I know I haven't been around much lately to make sure you two idiots don't burn yourselves in the forge, but could you do me a favour and not challenge death again. I like having older brothers to blame for my bad habits," Mica chuckled.

"Well, little brother, as it happens we've been blaming you for everything for years. It was most inconvenient when you left the way you did, and we had to come up with a new explanation as to why father's best brandy was still going missing," Emery teased. "I think he almost believed that mother was a closet drinker until Cobalt got caught with the bottle in his hand."

"You're such an idiot sometimes," Flint threw a pillow at Emery and chuckled loudly. "I am so exhausted I don't know if I want to sleep or eat or if there is a way I can do both at once."

"There is a way, rest for a minute and I will see what I can do," Mica said, and disappeared back through the doorway. It was only a matter of minutes when he reappeared with Jade. "The warriors of Phoenix are used to long hours of riding, you are not, and I imagine you haven't slept for the last two days," Mica said, seeing Emery already asleep on his bed and Flint staring at his hands as he sat quietly on the other side of the room. Flint hadn't looked up at his brother as he spoke and seemed to be in a trance of some sort.

"I am here to help," Jade approached the bed on which Flint sat. "I can help ease the pain of your long journey," she offered as she reached out to place a hand on his arm. Flint turned his head to look at her in a silent plea, trying to still the shaking in his hands as everything he had done in the city of Pegasus came rushing back at him.

"I spoke harshly to your mother about you, for that I apologise," he said as he felt the warmth from her hands flow into his own and a relaxing lassitude roll over him like a wave. "I would never disparage your character like that, it was the moment," he tried to explain why he had done it and felt ashamed.

"You also told her of your respect for me and that what you had said was untrue. You were gentle and kind to her once the danger had passed. You saved my mother's life and the lives of those with her by giving them the courage to take back their power," she smiled. "Rest now and let me ease your pain."

"There are others who need you far more than me," Flint admitted. "I still feel the energy and power from the battle in me."

"What you feel is the prophecy working through you now. You are at the beginning of your journey and still have a long way to go," she said softly. "I have spoken to my mother through the power that binds us together. You did no harm in Pegasus, only good. You saved far more life than the black robes took. You are a good man, Flint, son of the Hammer. You will continue to do good if you are true to your heart. Rest now and believe that your battle with Pegasus was just and not solely to avenge your sister and her baby."

Flint relaxed further as Jade's hands eased his muscles and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

******

Flint woke feeling refreshed and looked to the bed beside his, finding it empty. He stretched, thinking to work out the kinks in his muscles that he had begun feeling the night before, but found he felt supple and lithe as if he had been recovering for a week from the ride and swinging of the Warhammer.

He sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed and stared at the weapon as it rested against the wall. He both loved and hated it. He reached out and wrapped his hand around its handle. It fitted his hand perfectly. Not surprising, considering the hand that had crafted it was identical to his own. Picking it up he stood and hefted the weight, it's balance was perfect, and he felt the power of it flow through him as it became an extension of his arm. He drew a deep breath and put it back down in its resting place.

As he dressed, he considered his options. He could deny that anything he had done had been remarkable. He could say adrenaline fueled him after seeing the sister he loved so close to death after the attack by the Night Walker. He could deny that he had felt the power and surging strength wielding the War hammer had given him and try to resume his simple life and move to a town where he could start his own forge and live a contented life.

He pulled his belt through the loops on his pants and glanced at the weapon, his eyes lingering over the great stone head. Not a chip or a blemish had occurred to the massive grey stone, and he wondered how Emery had crafted it. Sitting to pull on his boots, he considered his other option. He could take up the hammer and accept the truth of what he had done during the battle with the black robes. He had brought down gates that halted seasoned warriors and men bigger than he. He had smashed walls and frightened innocent people with his rage and threats of violence.

He had, as Verdani had told her daughter, also challenged death itself as he tried to save the innocents trapped and destined to become sacrifices to the madman. He had hurt no one, but rather opened the doors for the more experienced Phoenix men to use their tasers to stun the black robed men. He wasn't a killer. He had helped the good people of Pegasus. He tried to tell himself that what Jade had said was true, but it was hard to accept that version knowing how angry and volatile he had been during the battle.

Flint wondered how others would view what he had done, and if crazy rumours Mica had repeated about him growing taller, and broader would have been spread while he slept. Suddenly he became concerned about the men and women he had ridden with and if they would see him as a threat to their cities now. He may not be the son of Hammer and Jewel, but he knew that was how he would be viewed now. If they saw him as the man of prophecy, would they not be afraid for their cities seeing how he had destroyed parts of Pegasus?

He stood fully dressed staring at the Warhammer for a long moment before hefting it in his hands once more. He didn't want to leave it here where anyone could come and take it, but neither did he want to walk around the fortress with it either. The only place he could think of where it may be safe and where someone would see if it was taken was the room in which Trix lay recovering from her grievous injuries.

He walked quickly through the corridors of the fortress, marvelling at how well rested he felt, and stepped into the makeshift infirmary once again noting the three figures in the beds there. He looked at the other two beds curiously before turning toward Trix and breathing a sigh of relief that there was colour on her face, unlike when they had arrived home the evening before. Talon sat beside her, looking as if he hadn't moved from that spot all night. He wore the stains of the ride on his clothes though his face and hands were clean now.

The Warhammer weighed heavily in his hands as he took in the sight of Trix and Talon, both seemingly asleep, and he moved to place it against the wall at the head of her bed. Talon stirred and looked up at him with a wan smile that told of his exhaustion.

"You should sleep," Flint whispered, not wanting to wake Trix. "I will stay with her if you want to go and rest for an hour or two." He had to admit he had misjudged Talon, and, as Mica had said, it seemed he was a good man who honestly loved his sister.

"I've sent Jade for food, your sister is only pretending to sleep hoping that I will do so too," he chuckled. "I can tell she is awake though."

"He doesn't play fair," Trix complained in a hushed voice, but she smiled up at Talon as she opened her eyes. "Flint, I am fine, tell him to go and rest properly," Trix implored her brother. "Worrying about him isn't helping me recover at all," she said reasonably.

"I was hoping to talk to you over some breakfast, if you don't mind," Flint said to Talon. "If the way I am feeling is any test of Jade's skills as a healer, then I know Trix is in safe hands here. Besides, I hate to be rude, but you stink after that ride," Flint teased. "Not as bad as me, but close."

"You both smell pretty bad," Trix grinned, wrinkling her nose.

"Have they got a bathhouse here?" Talon asked, acknowledging that he had not bathed for several days.

"If they don't we could fill the pond in the walled garden with steaming water. I think we deserve a bit of water after the last couple of days," Flint shrugged. "I need a favour from you too," he looked at his sister.

"I'm not in the position to be scrubbing your back," she laughed softly.

"Well, I don't want him touching me. He's far more your or Mica's type than mine," Flint chuckled, enjoying the teasing banter that seemed so normal to him in the wake of the battle.

"I'm pretty sure Jade would volunteer if you asked her," Trix gave a sly smile. "She has been asking about you since she came back last night. She is more than grateful that you saved her mother."

"Let's leave that conversation for another day," Flint shook his head, not wanting to discuss what had happened with her yet. Seeing Talon there and realising he had been wrong about him made him realise that he was possibly the one man who could answer his questions and help him make some decisions about what he should do now. "I need food and a bath, and I expect Talon needs the same, so I wanted to leave something with you for safe keeping while we go and find the necessities of life." He smiled, knowing Trix would agree, and turned his attention to Talon, "I'd like to talk to you, if you could pull yourself away just for an hour or so," Flint said seriously.

"Do you promise to sleep, or at least rest properly instead of trying to convince Jade to let you get out of this bed?" Talon asked Trix.

"Yes," Trix replied reluctantly, rolling her eyes at Talon.

"I heard that," Jade said coming back into the room. "It was a promise to stop nagging me, was it not?" she grinned.

"It was," Talon chuckled.

"Thank you, I will appreciate the quiet time," Jade laughed lightly as Trix pulled a pained expression. "How are you feeling this morning, Flint?" she asked, turning to study him.

"I feel amazing, and I expect that is thanks to you and your healing hands last night, thank you," he said, acknowledging that she had spent considerable time and energy making sure he was comfortably asleep before she left his room the night before. "I was about to ask Trix to look after something important for me," he nodded to the partially hidden Warhammer. "If you are here as well, I know no one will try and remove it without either of you knowing."

"You don't want to take it with you?" Jade frowned as Trix turned to look in the direction Flint had indicated.

"I doubt it will be needed today, and I am not sure how comfortable I feel using it as a decoration," Flint said. "It's not like a have I scabbard or a sheath for it."

"Mica could probably fix that," Talon suggested. "I don't know how safe it will be here."

"Safer than in an empty bedroom, besides, I would rather trust Emery's skill with hammer and tong than Mica," Flint chuckled. "Mica is the best at technology, but he doesn't have the skill of his older brothers," Flint winked at Trix. "He never took it seriously, he preferred to make toys and trinkets for his little sister."

"I resemble that fact," Mica said, walking into the room. "Em sent me to check on you, he's made himself at home in the forge and is working with Terra on something for her bike. He wants you to take the Warhammer down so he can make some modifications."

"You can take it, it's there," Flint lifted his chin in the direction of the weapon. "Apparently it's not a pretty enough trinket for Trix anyway."

"I never said that!" Trix protested so quickly that it made her brothers laugh.

"I will rest easier if Mica stays with Trix," Talon said, getting to his feet. "Here, you can take my seat and put her to sleep with stories about Phoenix," Talon offered, getting to his feet. "You can take it after we've eaten something, I'll come with you." he offered, realising that Flint had finally seemed to offer him friendship after the initial days of hostility toward him. "I don't suppose you know if this village has a bath house?" He asked Mica.

"Not in the village, but the fortress," Mica nodded. "Find Samael and he will show you the way. There's a hot spring in one of the tunnels."

"You can have the food Jade brought for me if you share it with Trix and then make sure she rests," Talon said. "Flint and I can find something to eat while we look for Samael," Talon said, looking at Flint for agreement.

"Sounds good," Flint nodded. "Can we bring you anything?" he asked Jade. "It seems unfair that you are bound to this room so completely."

"Maybe once Talon returns later today you could show me the walled garden Trix told me about, if everyone in here is content and resting?" she asked looking directly at Flint.