Alara Unbroken - Doug Beyer [74]
BANT
Mubin,” said Rafiq quietly, stepping into the recuperation room.
The old rhox didn’t look up. His bulk was turned away from the doorway. Rafiq couldn’t tell if he was awake or not.
“Mubin, old boy, are you up?”
“Go away,” was the grunted response. What did one say in such a situation? “They … said you were awake.”
“I told them I wanted you to stay away. I don’t want to see you, isn’t that clear?”
“Well, you’re being seen anyway,” said Rafiq. “You think they would refuse an order from me, or that I’m going to obey one from you? I just wanted to know how you were doing. So … how is it? Are you feeling better?”
No answer.
“Never mind,” said Rafiq hastily. “That’s a stupid question. Listen, Mubin, I’m going to find a way to make this right. I know they said it couldn’t be healed, but there has to be magic, somewhere, that’ll make you right again, and I’m going to find it.”
“Don’t bother.”
“Mubin, I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it. I should have slain your steed, or tackled you, or—”
Mubin reached over with his arm, grabbed a bedpost, and pulled himself over onto his back. It was excruciating, watching him. The powerful rhino-man, a many-sigiled knight of the Order of the Reliquary, was reduced to pulling himself around on a hostel bed. There was a book of prayers in his other hand.
His eyes were red and bloodshot.
“Rafiq. No. What you did was right. Don’t spend any more time bothering with it. I was a monster. I have to live with that.”
“But it was just—”
“And don’t tell me it was the enchantment. I know that. But I remember how it felt, Rafiq. I remember the crunch of my mace against their skulls. I remember the coldness in my veins. I remember the thrill of it. It may have been magic that awakened those parts of me, but they were already there.”
“No.”
“They were already there, Rafiq.”
Rafiq felt like hitting something. He exhaled, calming himself.
“The sages … The sages want to know more,” Rafiq said. “About the mind control you suffered. They want to know as much as they can, so they can avoid it in the future.”
“Rafiq, listen. I’ve been doing some reading. There are some similarities—”
“No, you listen. We’re out there fighting the horrors from Esper every day now. We need your experiences, so we can learn to fight against their magics, and defend our land. All of Bant is at stake.”
“But this is important,” said Mubin. “I think these old passages, these ancient prayers, mention things that are actually coming to pass, and give instructions for what to do when the—”
“That’s enough! Enough of these choir-boy distractions! At attention! On your feet, soldier!”
Mubin’s eyes went wide.
“Oh, holy Asha. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m—”
“Rafiq, it’s all right.”
“I’m so sorry. I … Look, I have to go. Uh, please tell the clerics all you can remember. It’ll … It’ll help the war effort. It was good to see you. I …”
He left.
Rafiq was out the door before he could see Mubin’s expression. He held the door shut with his back. He wondered whether friendship was something a sword could sever.
ESPER
Rafiq’s contingent huddled between strange, glittering dunes in a desert of fine particles of glass. They were deep in Esper, ahead of the main invasion force just as Rafiq wanted. The plane’s night sky was crisscrossed by grid-lines, as if even the stars had been categorized and dissected by the world’s mages, just like the etherium-infused bodies of the Esper denizens themselves.
“If I may speak freely, Knight-General, sir?” said an aven scout.
“You may, Scout—Kaeda, is it?” asked Rafiq.
“Yes, sir,” said the aven. His wings were folded military-tight, ruffled only slightly by the winds of Esper. “Sir, it’s not appropriate for you to accompany us on this mission. Your life is too valuable. If we’re only doing a routine city capture, then with all due respect, we don’t need your direction.”
“I understand your concern, Scout Kaeda, and I agree. You are quite capable of carrying out the letter of this mission without me.”
“I thought you would believe so, Knight-General. Which means