Sex Wizards - Initiation Ch. 14-15

Then, Arlon turns his furious gaze to me. I swallow and stow my bow, raising my hands as he sweeps towards me. For a split-second, I see my da storming up to deliver an ass-whooping, but instead, Arlon pulls me into a bone-crushing embrace. "Are you alright?" he asks, deep voice rough with relief. "I though I was going to see the end of you."

"I'm fine," I promise. My frayed nerves finally relax, and I feel myself start to shake. "I-I saw them come in and couldn't just wait."

"They caught us by surprise," Arlon admits. "Their spells were stronger than we anticipated."

I shudder when I realize it's probably because they didn't give a damn about their conduits while casting them. Allisande's haunted face and Olbric's wrenched shoulder are still fresh in my memory. "I found them," I say and I can't stop my voice from shaking. "I found all of them."

Arlon cups the back of my head and presses a soft kiss to my forehead. "Show me."

#

I lead them through the spooky door and into the prison. As soon as we're through, Margeurite lets out a cry of joy. She runs towards Allisande and throws her arms around the other woman. Allisande sobs as she returns the embrace, holding the ovisari like she'll never let go.

Galiva hurries to Olbric, and I follow. "They had him hanging by his wrists," I say. "The man who did it is dead."

"Good," Galiva says. She peels Olbric's eyes open, gets a look at his dilated pupils and swears. "They've drugged the shit out of him." Her fingers are gentle as they touch the bruised skin around his eye, wringing a miserable little sound out of him. "But I don't think they broke anything." She moves to the cuts around his wrists and the new one under his neck. It's stopped bleeding, but the knife line that Isa had drawn when they first captured him is red with infection.

I smooth his tangled hair back from his face and his good eye flutters open on his own accord. He blinks as he looks up at us, unfocused and confused. "You're safe," I promise, and it must be enough because his eye slides closed again.

Once Galiva has patched his wounds, she moves to help Garrett with the others. I stay by Olbric as the rest of them are freed from their shackles. Other than some very telling bruises and cuts, they're physically alright, but I can see the shadows behind their eyes. Whatever they've endured here is worse than anything I want to imagine.

The reunions are quiet, and I keep a hand on Olbric as I watch them happen. There are tears all around and even Arlon, who's as stoic as they come, sheds a few as he pulls Allisande and the black-haired man into a tight embrace.

Spells are redistributed so the found wizards have something to carry. While Arlon takes Ambra and Margeurite to search the tunnels, Garrett and Galiva make sure all are hale enough to travel. They even tend to the rogue wizards, mending burns and sealing cuts, though I don't think they deserve it.

We search them to make sure every spell and weapon is out of their hands before shackling them in the same manacles they had used to keep the Crux wizards captive. When the tunnels are cleared of magiline and supplies, we take them with us when we walk out of the caves.

The woman that Diran had dragged through the woods is still there, trapped behind the shield. She's managed to work her hands out from the ropes, and as soon as she catches sight of us, she straightens up. Arlon breaks the barrier around her with a spell of his own, and she looks braced to run.

"More godsdamned wizards," she spits.

"We're not here to hurt you," Arlon says and and holds out a canteen to her. It's only then I realize they have the same charcoal hair, same sun-bronzed skin.

She looks from him to the canteen before she snatches it out of his hand. She drinks all of it, water leaking from the corner of her mouth. When she finishes, she wipes her mouth on her sleeve, and only looks a little less wary. "Who are you all?"

"Wizards of the Crux," Arlon says. "I assume you are not here willingly?"

The woman spits at the feet of the two rogue wizards Garrett's holding. "A bandit crew overran my caravan in the Hobokins a few weeks ago," she says. "Killed my family, but took me alive. They were doing work with this lot when Diran paid for a night with me. Then decided he had to keep me," she hisses as she glares at the two. "You kill him?"

Arlon sighs. "No. He, unfortunately, made an escape."

"Shame," she says. "I would have liked to put a knife in his back myself."

Arlon looks her over. "You're tzigaro?"

She straightens and gives him a similarly searching look before she answers. "Yes."

I blink in surprise. We had a few tzigaro caravans come through Airedale, though outside of trade, they wanted little to do with us. They're a close knit community that never stay in one place for long, choosing to travel the roads with their horse caravans instead.

Arlon hums and says, "Your road is your own to choose, but it would be safer to travel with us - at least until we are out of the Hobokins."

She looks us all over but her eyes go back to Arlon, her head tilted. "What's your name?" she asks.

"Arlon Kalisson," he replies, and I see something like surprise cross her face. "Yours?"

"Orabelle Burgess," she says. She looks him over once more before she comes to a decision. "I'll stay with you for now."

We return to where we left our horses only to find one of them missing, and Isa along with it. The ropes that had bound her are neatly cut. "How the fuck?" Thaddius asks. "That domination spell was incredible!"

Arlon sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He looks as tired as I feel. "Apparently her will was stronger," he says, displeased.

"I could track her," I offer.

Arlon shakes his head. "We have more important things to worry about."

He's not wrong. Cancassi and Thaddius were both hurt bad, and the recovered wizards are weak from their time in the cave. We help them onto the horses, and I offer to sit behind Olbric on top of Mo to hold him in place. I keep my arms tight around him, whispering quiet words of comfort into his ear as we start the long road down.

Behind us, Arlon and Garrett keep a close eye on the two captive wizards. From the snippets of conversation I catch, they know one of them. Lucien is his name, and he's another who had been expelled from the Crux, though he'd been kicked out nearly five years ago.

We make camp about half way back to the mine. Even though we set an illusion to hide our camp, we take shifts to keep watch over the rogue wizards. After losing Diran and the mercenary, Arlon isn't taking any chances with these two.

I sleep like the dead before I'm woken for the last shift, just before dawn. The two rogue wizards have fallen into an uneasy sleep, but I jump when Olbric wakes beside me with a quiet gasp. In the light of our dying fire, Olbric's good eye stares up at the starry sky in confusion, as if he's not quite sure how he got here.

"Olbric?"

He blinks and tilts his head to look up at me. His good eye glosses with tears as an uncertain smile spreads across his face. "Please tell me I'm not dreaming," he whispers. "I-I've had so many nightmares recently."

I scoot closer to him before I bring my lips to his. He relaxes under me, and I stroke his cheek as I pull away. "It's no dream," I promise. "Do you remember what happened?"

Olbric clenches his eye closed, as if he's trying to piece together the fragmented memories. "They overwhelmed me outside of the mines," he says. "It was three against one. I-I didn't stand a chance. And then that woman snuck up behind me." He swallows, a hand going to rub against the bandaged cut on his neck.

"They dragged me up the hill. I fought back. Almost got away once, but then they forced something bitter down my throat and things get... fuzzy," he says. "I remember a cave. I remember Alix yelling my name. I think they tried to feed me, but I couldn't keep anything down. More bitters... and then pain." His hand reaches up to grab mine, "But then you were there." He looks up at me, his brows furrowed. "How did you find us?"

I squeeze his hand gently. "Divination. Galiva Saw what they were doing with the captured wizards. I Saw that woman cut your necklace," I say. "We got here as quick as we could. I found your trail, and we followed it until we got to the cave."

Olbric is quiet for a long moment. "They were using me for a casting, weren't they?"

"Yes." I swallow, my thumb stroking down his cheek. "He had you hanging by your wrists. I put an arrow through his eye."

Olbric swallows, and when he opens his good eye again, he looks scared. "I don't remember what all they did," he whispers. "And I don't know whether I should be grateful or not."

My heart twists, and I don't know how to answer. I don't know what to say that will make it better. I don't think there's anything that can.

"The first time they brought you into their casting room was the same time Dominai brought you back out," Allisande says quietly and we both look over. She's laying on her side, Margeurite's arm slung over her waist. She watches us with a sad smile. "You're alright now, Olbric. We all are."

Olbric looks at her, and something in his expression crumples. Anger and guilt and relief all blur together on his bruised face. Tears spill from his eyes, and he rolls onto his side, burying his head in his hands. I scoot down beside him and wrap my arms around him, holding him tight as his shoulders shake with silent tears.

###

The trip back to the Crux isn't easy. Olbric spends the first few days sicker than a dog as whatever the rogue wizards drugged him with works its way out of him. The bouts of dizziness make it hard for him to ride without help, and I hold his hair back more than once as he retches off the side of the path.

The road home seems to stretch forever, and it takes us nearly three times as long as the trip out. With the amount of people we have, we run out of rations before we're even out of the foothills. Arlon and Garrett have a few conjurations that create enough food to last us a couple of days, and I hunt what I can, but feeding sixteen people is no small task. We go through the deer I take down quicker than I thought possible, and all of us eat a little lean those last few days on the road.

The tzigaro woman, Orabelle, stays with us the whole way. I had my suspicions about her having magic in her blood, but Arlon must have convinced her to come to the Crux to confirm. She's seen what magic can do. After sex being used as a weapon against her, I imagine it must be tempting to see how she could use it back.

Arlon spends a lot of time with the recovered wizards as well. He takes them aside one by one, and they linger at the back of our group to have their quiet conversations. I'm not sure what he says to them, but all of them seem to come out of it red-eyed but smiling. Like some bit of normalcy has been restored after their months-long nightmare.

We just reach the last fork in the road for Straetham when Allisande walks Mo up beside me. "So," she says. "You decided on a change of scenery after all."

I smile as I glance up at her. "Wish I had done it a lot sooner."

She looks down at me with a raised eyebrow. "How long have you been at the Crux?"

I rub the back of my neck, trying to think back. "Little over a month, now?"

Allisande laughs, and I remember how that sound had won me over the first time I heard it. "And in that time, you've helped uncover a plot against the wizards of the Crux, led a retinue to a hidden lair, and helped take down a band of rogue wizards," she says. "That's quite a list of accomplishments for a month green adept."

I flush and keep my head down. "I guess none of it would have happened if those goblins hadn't tried to nab you that night."

Allisande hums thoughtfully. "Even without them, I think I would have found some way to seduce the handsome ranger that was kind enough to guide me through the woods."

"Wouldn't have been hard," I say, but my thoughts circle back to the cave, as they have so often these past few days. "Allis, I'm sorry I took so long to get to the Crux. Maybe if I had come sooner, we could have found you-"

Allisande must also ride because she nudges Mo's haunches into me, checking me into silence. "Dom, you saved my life and the lives of everyone else who was trapped in that cave," she says matter-o-factly. "You owe no one an apology. Frankly, I'm already tired of hearing apologies." Allisande turns her hard gaze on the two rogue wizards we've captured. "What they did to us was unforgivable, yet you don't hear them apologizing. Diran is still out there, but at least Jaret and Lucien will face justice for what they've done."

That shuts me up quick. The closer we get to Straetham the worse the two rogue wizards look. They seem to know what's in store for them, and I don't have a shred of pity to spare. Not when Alix and Marvin start awake from nightmares, or when Iona gets that far away look on her face. Not when I see the crows feet etched around Allisande's beautiful blue eyes and the bruise on Olbric's face. They've earned whatever is coming to them.

"What'll happen to them?" I wonder.

"They'll be brought to the king," she says. "My cousin already has a dislike of magic, but magic that was wrought unwillingly? They'll be lucky to have a painless death."

Behind me, I hear Lucien stumble with a short grunt of surprise. I suddenly feel faint. "Your cousin?"

Allisande's smile is sharp as a blade's edge. "Some bloodline wizards have a more recognizable family name than others," she says. "Once we're inside of the Crux, there's no real need to share a family name unless there's a worry of incest."

"Why keep it secret?" I ask, still reeling at the fact that I've slept with royalty.

"It's not that it's a secret," she says with a shrug. "It just... doesn't matter so much. Once you're in the Crux, everyone there becomes family." She gives a small laugh as her eyes land on Marguerite, walking just ahead of us. "Closer than family, actually."

I can't stop a smile as it sinks in just how true that is. Wizards work quick, and in the span of a month, I realize that I'd die for any one of the wizards of the Crux. Nearly did, even. And after seeing how they rallied to get their own back, I think they'd do the same for me.

The question comes out before I can stop it. "Then why did you leave?"

Allisande is quiet for a long moment before she lets out a long breath. "Because even family fight," she says quietly, her eyes traveling to Margeurite again. "I made a rash decision because I felt like I was being stifled at the Crux." She gives a small laugh and shakes her head. "I can't even remember all of what we argued about. I just know that I still have a lot to apologize for."

I put my hand on her knee and squeeze gently. "You got nothing but time now, right?"

She smiles and puts her hand over mine. "I suppose you're right."

#

When the Crux finally comes into view, a cheer goes through our little caravan. As we approach, I see that our homecoming hasn't gone unnoticed. A call must have gone out through the towers, because it seems like the whole place has come out to welcome us home. I realize I've met just a fraction of the full population of the Crux. There are over a hundred people crowding the courtyard and hanging from windows to cheer us as we walk through the gates.

The missing wizards are welcomed back with tears and open arms. Arlon finally has to call the mob off to allow the wizards to be gently ushered towards the infirmary. Physical injuries from their time in the cave can be healed, but I have a feeling they all have a long road ahead of them. For now, seeing the joy on their faces at coming home is enough. At least whatever comes next will happen on their own terms.

I help Cancassi off of their horse, steadying them as their injured leg tries to fold. Garrett and Galiva did what they could for them and Thaddius, but there is still going to be a long recovery period. "Thanks, Dom," Cancassi says and kisses my cheek as I hand them over to Galiva.

A few grooms take the horses from us, servants grab our packs, and just like that, our responsibilities are over. I stand there with my bow and quiver still slung over my back, a little unsure what to do. Arlon catches my eye over the quartermaster's shoulder, and as soon as their conversation finishes, he comes over to me.

"Walk with me."

I fall into step beside him. He leads me through the main atrium and into the conjuration yard. It's empty, but as the summer starts in earnest, the strange vines that creep up the walls have started to blossom. Blue and yellow petaled faces turn to follow us as we pass by.

His silence starts to make me nervous, but then he finally speaks. "You've done an incredible thing, this past month. Your divinings not only told us our missing wizards were alive, they helped us find them." I feel my ears getting hot, but Arlon isn't done. "Do you know how you earn a divination mastery?"

I hadn't really thought about it. It would be different from what Cancassi had to do for their transmutation mastery just because of the nature of divination. "No, sir."

"You prove you can use the silver safely when you cast with me," he says. "But then you have to uncover information pertinent to the future of the Crux. Divination is all very imprecise - it takes focus on the part of the conduit, and even then, it usually goes awry. But you... honed in. It came naturally to you. On top of that, you eased Galiva back into the silver, which is something she declined to let me even try."

"Oh." She hadn't told me that part, but it makes her trust in me that much more meaningful. I can't stop a smile even though I'm sure my face is as red as the setting sun.

"So, with all of that in mind," Arlon says and holds a small band of purple ribbon out to me, "I have decided to confirm your divination mastery."

I falter, mid-step. "What?"

"You proved you are capable and responsible with the silver, and your divinings helped restore five precious assets back to the safety of the Crux," Arlon says and folds the little ribbon into my palm. "You have demonstrated everything I would have tested for."

I blink at it before looking up at him, shock numbing my tongue. "Arlon, I can't accept this," I say at last. I've been in the silver twice and cast once! I'm no master.

Arlon squeezes my shoulder and tilts my chin up when I try to look away. "Dominai, we had given those four wizards up for dead, but your work helped bring them back to us," he says. "Just because you are new does not mean you are unworthy of this. You've earned it."

He closes my hand around the little purple ribbon. I don't know what to say, so I say the only thing I can. "Thank you."

Arlon smiles and cups the back of my neck before pressing a chaste kiss to the top of my head. "You know, most newcomers wouldn't fight me like you did when I said you weren't coming. I'm grateful that you did. Bringing you along was the best decision I almost didn't make."

I worry the soft little ribbon between my fingers as my face grows even hotter. I feel like sinking into the ground just to get him to stop before I catch fire. Then Arlon says, "But at the cave, you still disobeyed a direct order from the grandmaster of the Crux."

I recognize that tone. I swallow and glance up at him. "I suppose that's true," I say, a little uncertain.

Arlon has an amused grin tilting his lips. "Unlike previous grandmasters, I don't require total obedience. I'm not foolish enough to think I'll never be wrong, and I like to be challenged when someone thinks I am," he says. "But know that when I give you an order, I will punish you for breaking it."