Page 41 of Ceridor

I pictured the fellowship that had gathered in a castle ruin just a month ago and had sworn to reconvene at the summer solstice, after the planting season at the monastery. Wren's eyes had a kaleidoscopic overlay of colors in them, the effects of the powerfrom the lantern gods changing his consciousness. Even Awariye had something similar though not as distinct, a pale flame that glimmered in his eyes sometimes when he'd recalled trying to guide the power down and into the earth by means of bardic hymns and songs dedicated to the Eart Mother.

Then my mind had turned to Ulbrecht, whose gaze rested so lovingly on Wren. The king had shucked his tunic over his head, revealing the message inked into his back—To Him Unconquered—that Wren had asked me to look into. Ulbrecht explained that the late mystic who'd brought the lanterns to these lands had explained that the lanterns would lead to an unconquered warrior who would become a great king.

When Wren and Ulbrecht had first met, the words had leapt out at Wren and sent him into a vision, the message of which he could not discern. Scattered letters, ones he'd hoped would coagulate into the gods' names, but so far had yielded nothing, forced Wren to conclude that maybe it was simply the lanterns drawing him in closer to their power.

I hadn't said this at the time, but I suspected the letters leaping out at Wren to be an activation of sorts. They had surged into him, and thereafter he had become sensitive to the power of the lanterns. Even if the letters themselves never coagulated into combinations that held meaning aside from Ulbrecht's tattoo, just sending Wren into a vision was enough for me to connect those dots.

Johann laughed as the dancers began bouncing the dragon and moving faster, the gigantic serpent undulating and whipping around at a nearly frantic pace within the protective circle of the seven lanterns and guarded out front by the twirling fire dancer. This was the sky god coming in to complete the sacred elements of the daily magical ritual we monks practiced, Air swooping down along the Danube River, leading the sacred lanterns whose fire blessed this earth.

I spoke to the gods I had met at the monastery, who had graciously taken me under their wing and guided me as an eighteen-year-old whose father's betrayal had still tasted so bitter. No one knew whether those listening to our prayers were the same divine Gaulic gods who had been worshipped by the ancient Helveticans for centuries before the Romans came, but they were clearly willing to answer to those blessed names. Even thinking of what happened to the Gauls, the end of their civilization and the mass extermination of their people and future, was tragic enough to shake me out of my fears and put them into a different perspective.

"Please," I whispered under my breath, trying not to beg, but as tears burned my eyes it was hard for my prayer to not become desperate. "Please guide me, blessed gods, in helping this land—the nature here, and its people—to flourish."

I would bravely take my path and allow Johann to take his, even though the thought of Johann following Ulbrecht into battle had me so scared I was shaking.

I would do all that I could to protect Wren and the lantern gods from becoming a target. If word spread that this power that protected Ulbrecht in battle could be stolen, murdering Wren and abducting the lanterns would become foremost in the minds of anyone seeking power.

"I will do what I can to protect this king, and the precious years of peace he has secured," I promised, thinking of both Ulbrecht and my Johann, should my lover regain his kingship.

As the dragon danced through the square and celebrants rushed by me, I took a slow, deep breath, believing that the gods who guided me would bless this path if they chose to. I had made my decision and committed my will to it, and thus would accept the gods' decision regardless of whether it was one that I wanted.

A few more deep breaths pulled me from the intensity pressing in from all sides and instead filled me with the gentle flow of theriver to let the cycle begin again. My breath coming in and out at a slow pace, I felt content to let the cards fall how they would, should we endeavor and struggle with all our might and still end up with a tragic fate.

My feet planted in the earth, I felt her never-failing promise to sustain me. More stars lit the night as the lanterns accompanied the dragon into whatever future awaited us. Unknowingly my right palm had pressed against my solar plexus as I'd schooled my breathing, the calm coolness of feeling connected to my higher soul steadying me.

Ulbrecht had said that the lantern gods did not feel good or bad, their presence in his consciousness neither one of affection nor disdain. As gods, perhaps they rose above such things, to a higher magnitude we humans were not privy to know. The High King had said that the old lantern mystic had taught him to feel when these gods were watching, and now Ulbrecht felt them at his back when he fought to defend the borders of these central Danubian plains from invaders. They were watching, and with their gaze on him, Ulbrecht and his men fought with all their might.

I would also.

"Thank you," I whispered, pulling my right palm up from my solar plexus to kiss it, then opening it out as an offering to the night sky. I smiled as some tears fell, so grateful to notice that my fear had left me. Then with gratitude in my heart, I went to go find my lover and the dragon.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ceridor

The dancing continued, but I withdrew and found a street stall that let me sit down. Drinking the area's famous honeyed tea, I allowed myself to come down from my adrenaline and drop out of it. Getting swept away with a crowd was a very real thing, that enthusiasm infectious. One of the many benefits to becoming a mage was developing the mental faculties capable of slipping out of that group mind and going your own way at will.

I drank the cup of tea, ordered another, pissed out back behind the stall, then ordered a third, getting assurances from the business lady that I was drinking the herbal evening version and nothing with caffeine. Tired from the road and the deep realizations, I let my lover enjoy the festivities and just relaxed and waited for him. It would also challenge him to find me, something he'd need to hone his skills for if he wanted to travel as my bodyguard on my more dangerous trips.

I propped my chin in the palm of my hand, elbow on the board that served as the front counter of the little street stall. Focusing on my etheric and astral perception, I set my mind to noticing if anyone got too close but otherwise allowed my body to rest. Eventually applause rang out through the square, hearty cheers as the dragon danced its way back from whence it had come.

The crowd began to disperse to the taverns and drinking halls, parents carrying their kids off for bedtime. Eyes closed, I sensed when Johann distinguished himself from the crowd, a dim flame that got brighter as he approached. The signature of his life force felt nearly the same as mine, with our bodies sharing each other so frequently and deeply. He went down one street, then came back to the square and tried another. He was wise enough to not call my name out willy-nilly, but he clearly couldn't sense me the way I could him. It was a skill he could develop, yet another side of our magical tradition.

He pinged me like the striking of a bell, his recognition of me ringing out like a coin flicked off a bowl. I couldn't help it—I grinned and opened my eyes. But my smile fell when Johann came up to me absolutely thrumming with energy, too much, skittish and jittery. "Hey."

"Oi," I answered, taking his hand and leading him back to the inn.

I took him straight to the bath and doused him in cold water, scrubbing him down, trying to get all the energy that clung to him from others cleansed and off him. Johann stopped shaking and seemed to catch on, helping me dump buckets of cold water over his head in the bath and eventually taking over so I could scrub down also.

It was a cold bath, to be sure, but I knew we'd sleep well tonight.

"Come here," said Johann, standing naked in the bathroom and pulling me to him. I melted against him, unable to resist andfrankly, I didn't want to. Still, the frenetic pace of the dancing had left a nervous vibration about him, and as it cascaded over me I sent out puffs of breath and flicked my fingers to discharge it off me and into the ground.

Johann huffed and shook his head at me, smiling. "I feel better, thank you. But let's get in bed; I need you."

That pulled me up short. "I'm still sore from the woods."

He kissed me on the lips, then the tip of my nose. "I want to drink you up."

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