BT - Book 1 - Chapter 76

“I swear to the Sixteen,” Sarah’s muffled voice carried through the grove as Micah on the forest floor, pressing his back into Ravi’s soft and warm fur.  “If you’re just taking us out into the middle of nowhere to rape and murder us, I will come back as a ghost and I will haunt both of you.”

Micah’s mouth quirked.  He’d forgotten about Sarah.  Telivern shifted next to him from where it had curled its legs up under its body as Micah’s fingers found a soft spot behind its ear.  It expanded its wings, cocking its head quizzically at him.

She was a good archer, but if he was honest, the main reason he had included her in his plans was that she was a package deal with Jo.  Now that Trevor had ranged attacks due to his class, he added enough versatility to the team that an archer, while useful, wasn’t absolutely necessary.

“Nothing like that Ms. Redflower,” Drekt’s bass voice rumbled.  “Trevor and I have an off site training center where our mentor spends most of his time.  If you’ve heard any of the rumors about how fast we’ve gained levels, he’s our secret weapon.  You can’t really be part of the team unless he’s willing to train you.”

“C’mon Sarah,” Jo responded.  “Quit acting like they pissed in your tea.  These two have been giving each other eyes the entire walk out here.  If I’d have to guess, our bodies aren’t what’s on the top of their minds.”

“Gods,” Micah rolled his eyes and stood up.  Maybe he needed to get Trevor and Drekt acting lessons.  Either that or he needed to enchant their belts to keep them from being removed mid day or something.  If the two of them weren’t careful, they’d get themselves kicked out of the Lancers.

Just then the four of them walked into the grove, Trevor leading the way.  Jo looked just how he remembered, slim and athletic.  Pretty, but not the kind to stand out from the crowd.  Sarah on the other hand looked like she had just bitten into something sour.  Nothing new there either.

“A kid?”  She scoffed, slamming a foot on the forest floor as she crossed her arms.  “Your super secret master is a kid?  I’d be surprised if he even has his blessing.”

“Hello to you too Sarah,” Micah walked away from Telivern and Ravi with a wry smile on his face.  “It’s good to know that your personality is the same, no matter what era it is.”

“Oh great!” Sarah threw her hands up in the air.  “The kid is acting creepy and mysterious!  Jo, let’s get out of here before these weirdos turn us all into skinsuits.”

“I’m going to be honest Sarah,” Micah shook his head, hair tousling in the sun.  “I don’t actually need you.  An archer would be helpful, but you’re far from necessary.  The main reason you’re here is that we are going to need a scout.”

“What?” Sarah sputtered looking from Micah to Jo, the other girl trying to conceal a laugh behind her hand.

“Jo is a scout and because of your heritage,” Micah tapped the top of one of his ears, “she can see in the dark better than most.  Eventually, we will be heading into the Great Depths, a place not known for being forgiving.  I understand that the two of you are a package deal, so you can join us, but it’s not the end of the world if only Jo joins our team.  You are free to leave.”

He knew that he was overplaying his hand slightly.  Jo would certainly help in the Great Depths, but she wasn’t necessary.  He knew the paths he’d taken last time, all of the routes recorded faithfully in the Ageless Folio, and Ravi was a natural nocturnal predator.  Deep down, Micah knew that he was making up excuses.

More than anything he just wanted to see Jo again.  To have a final chance with her where he wouldn’t overthink the situation.  To do things right, one last time.

“Tell me about this eventually,” Jo intervened, barely suppressing a chuckle.  “Most people don’t voluntarily go into the Great Depths unless they’re planning on trading with the Durgh, and from the sound of things you sound more like the goal is to kick their door in rather than knock on it.”

“Also,” Jo cut Micah off before he could answer.  “Why do you have a flying deer and panther?  No one told me that this party would have flying animals.  That’s significantly cooler than anything else at the guild headquarters.”

“First of all,” Micah motioned to the animals behind him.  “These are Telivern and Ravi, the other two members of our team.  Telivern fulfills a sort of guardian role, warding off enemies while Ravi is a bit of a scout and an ambush fighter.”

The big panther padded over to Jo, pushing its head under her hand and forcing her to pet it.  The girl cocked her head slightly as she began scratching the cat behind her ears.

“And you’re pretty close to correct on the Great Depths,” Micah ran a hand through his hair.  “In a couple of years, the Durgh are going to storm the nearby countryside.  The Army will dishonor a duel, and their raid will turn serious.  Everyone we know will die unless we can stop it from happening.”

“I know it’s hard to believe,” he continued, making eye contact with Jo and Sarah in turn, “but my blessing allows me to travel back in time.  That is why I’m able to perform magic and help Trevor and Drekkt level even though I’m not sixteen yet.  At first I didn’t know the importance of my blessing, but after living through the first purge of Basil’s Cove, I came to understand.  The gods gave me this power for a reason.  As hard as it is, I was meant to go back in time and change things.”

“I tried relying on authority figures,” Micah sighed, “and I tried doing it myself.  Both were mistakes.  The only way I can think of to stop the disaster that is coming is to use my knowledge of the future to build a team capable of protecting me from the Durgh as we travel through the Great Depths until we reach the local Khan.  Durghish customary law will allow me to challenge the Khan to a one on one deal, and if-”

“Holy shit,” Jo whispered, silencing Micah, her eyes wide.

“I know!” Sarah crossed her arms.  “How in the hell do you expect us to believe any of this shit?”

“No,” Jo leaned down and hugged Ravi around the neck only for the big cat to cheerfully lick the side of her face.  “The flying panther talks.  He has a godsdamned talking cat.”

The words caught in Micah’s throat.  He’d prepared an entire reveal speech, secrets that only he knew.  Cryptic reveals to build tension.  Demonstrations of power and magic far beyond his appearance to wow them.  Promises of enchantments to help them gain levels easily.

“What?” Sarah echoed the confusion on Micah’s face.  “You can’t be serious?  A cute sapient monster is all it takes for you to believe this horseshit?”

“Sorta,” Jo fell to her knees, running her hand through Ravi’s fur.  “Look, he's never seen us and he knows about our heritage.  We’ve already heard about how fast Trevor and Drekkt have grown, and now we find out that this kid is at least some sort of high level tamer.  Put together, those three pieces of information are hard to explain.”

“Now,” she shrugged as she continued speaking, “let’s talk about motive.  The kid might be lying, but let’s be honest.  What does he have to gain from doing that?  There’s very little doubt in my mind that he’s more powerful than us despite being so young.  What does he have to gain from fooling us?  We’re levels two and three.  Least we can do is hear him out.”

“I,” Micah scratched the back of his neck.  “That was actually the argument I was about to make.  Possibly with some magical demonstrations thrown in there, but really, what do I have to gain from fooling you?”

“Oh,” he blushed slightly.  “I’m Micah Silver by the way.  Trevor’s brother.”

“Ravi told me,” Jo smiled at him, a twinkle in her eyes.  “She said that you talk about me a lot.  Something about having a future crush on me?  I’m not really sure what that means, but she sure seems eager to explain.”

“Oh fuck,” Micah’s eyes widened and he took a step toward the two of them.

Trevor just burst out laughing, almost doubling over.  Even Drekkt managed to crack a quick smile at him.

“Oh gods this is worth it,” Trevor gasped for breath between peels of laughter.  “I love you Micah, but all of this mysterious and portentous ‘forces of history’ stuff has been wearing thin.  If the new girl can keep you in your place, I say we keep her.”

“Wait,” Sarah turned to Drekkt, the only person not actively involved in the conversation, “this isn’t all some sort of theatrics on his part?  He’s actually serious?”

She nodded at Micah, confusion in her eyes as he began blushing and ran over to where Jo was cuddling with Ravi.

“Oh no,” Drekkt shook his head.  “As much as I doubted things at first, Micah knows far too much.  Even if he were some royal bastard pretending to be the child of a tailor, that would only explain his power.  His knowledge of the near future is both disturbing and uncanny.  I unfortunately haven’t been able to come to another conclusion as to what’s going on.”

“Ravi!” Micah shouted, diving at the panther.  “You are supposed to be my confidante.  Those were secrets I was telling you, not stories I wanted you to blab to Jo as soon as you saw her!”

“But papa,” her voice giggled in his mind as Micah tried to wrestle her off of Jo.  “I can taste your feelings when you talk about her.  I know that you want to make her your mate.  She is funny and scratches my ears well so Ravi wanted to help!”

“Mate?” Jo started laughing as Micah gave up his struggle, planting his face in his hands, all sense of gravitas lost.

“You’re kinda cute Micah,” She continued a broad teasing smile on her face, “but it’s a little early for that kind of talk.”

“No!” Ravi interjected fervently.  “Papa knew you in multiple lives.  You kept becoming mates but you would grow bored with Papa and leave.  Things are different now!  Papa is strong and a good hunter.  This time Papa thinks that you will stay and be his life mate.”

“Mursa,” Micah mumbled, his eyes closed.  “Are you sure you can’t modify my blessing just this once?  I need to go one day back in time.”

Distantly, he heard a woman laughing.

“Life mate?” Joe raised an eyebrow, laughter flashing in her eyes.  “He’d better be very good at hunting.  I have high standards.”

Micah buried his head in his hands once again.

“Are…” Sarah looked confused from Micah and Jo to Drekkt and Trevor.  “Are they always like that?  Holding half a conversation and leaving everyone else out of the loop?”

“It’s even worse with the deer,” Trevor nodded.  “I swear to the Sixteen he can understand every noise that thing makes, and half the time it’s just making fun of me.”

Distantly, Telivern snorted.

“It’s not fair,” Micah groaned at the off white stag as it spread its wings primly, “at least YOU should support me.”