Page 13 of Swamp Kings 1

“Take good care of my brother,” Bishop said with a grin, leading them out. “I’ll lock the door behind us.”

“Why would you roll dice for a wife?” Kaphas asked once outside, like it violated all logic and reasoning, which it did.

Bishop clapped a hand on Spar’s shoulder. “You answer that while I go check on our long boat.”

Spar nodded as he went off. “Thanks. Monfrere.” He then regarded the curious golden eyes locked on him, not wanting to be in the conversation anymore. “I’d like to forget the stupid answer to that question.”

The smile dawning on his mouth was one of pure comical cynicism. “Dice are used in games. Was this a game?”

Spar took a single breath along with twenty seconds, explaining the Fate Dice and its long-standing roll with the Twelve. At the end, Kaphas faced him fully.

“You misused the Dice. And now its Fate has taught you an invaluable lesson. Which is…” He aimed a puzzled stare at him. “Human complexities cannot be tamed by such a thing as… fate. Fate, is in fact, the essence of these complexities.”

“We see fate sort of like… the wind,” Spar explained, shoving his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants. “You throw five pieces of balled up paper into the air and they’ll all land in a particular spot, depending on the paper and the wind. Wherever they land, that’s the roll of fate or the Fate roll.”

Kaphas took several contemplative seconds before muttering, “Ballsy.”

Spar had to laugh at that, getting the golden orbs on him along with his smile.

“Kult would call it this.”

Spar realized then. “You love that brother a great deal, I see.”

He eyed the way his smile slowly dissolved into something similar to awe. “Love,” he murmured, fixing his gaze on the air before him. “What I feel for him… contains the greatest power my being has ever experienced. All the Kevlar in my cells and strength in my body and mind are miniscule next to it. This power exists also with my wife. When we made love for the first time, without realizing, I… fused with every part of her. Mind, heart, blood, bones and even DNA.She now has more of me in her than I have in myself,” he said, fascinated.

“Wow,” Spar muttered, getting his direct, worried attention.

“Is this wrong?”

Spar sputtered a few chuckles, shaking his head. “Nah man. It’ssofucking right.” He took in a heavy breath, amazed. “I don’t covet shit,” he informed, nodding at him. “But that right there. What you just told me? I covet the hell out of that. That’s called becoming one. Something I will likely never ever know thanks to my stupidity. Ah fuck,” he muttered as Juliette headed his way with a shit eating grin. “Here comes Bishop’s lil’ sis. Probably the one I would have married had I had the balls to act on a single fucking thing.”

“You must be Kaphas,” she said, walking straight to him with her hand out.

“She wants to shake your hand,” Spar said at seeing the wonder in his expression.

“To thank me?”

“It’s also used to say hello when you first meet people.”

“Or we can wave,” she said, doing that instead with a bright smile before turning it to Spar. She reached in the front pocket of her overalls and whipped out an envelope. “This is yours. Read it when I’m not around.” She suddenly hugged him andwhispered, “For all the nice things you’ve done for me all my life.”

She released him and ran off in big childish skipping that had his chest in a vice of longing.

“This is a tragedy,” Kaphas marveled, like he’d been searching for a suitable term for his bullshit life.

Spar nodded, looking down at the envelope. “You nailed it, mon frere,” he mumbled.

“What do you think is in it?” he asked.

Spar took a breath and ripped it open. “Only one way to find that out.” He stared at the official looking document, speed reading up to the line that punched him in the guts.

He lowered the paper, looking around for Juliette.

“Is it a letter?” Kaphas asked.

“No, it’s…” He looked at it again, double checking he’d read right. “A writing of divorce. From my wife.”

“She divorced you? Why?”

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