The Foolhardies 151 Three Kings

There was no other choice but to wait for the new guests to arrive as starting a fight now would only make either of us vulnerable to getting bit in the a.s.s.

But while Ardeen Spellweaver's focus was turned elsewhere, I took the time to send Collin McCord an inquiring look that I hoped he understood to mean, "Did you do this?"

He gave me another almost imperceptible nod which I understood as, "h.e.l.l yeah."

In turn, I sent him my own nearly imperceptible nod of approval which I hoped he took to mean, "That's brilliant! You couldn't warn us about Ardeen's plans in time so you found another way to foil it."

He sent me one final nod as if to tell me he received my praise.

Of course, this entire exchange was all in my head, but I could see the logic in Collin's actions. Sending word to other interested parties of Ardeen's predictions to bring chaos to an otherwise one-sided battle was the best chance we had to escape Ardeen Spellweaver's clutches. It really was a good move to increase our chances of survival, although a highly risky one too.

Things depended on who was coming. And as there were only a few people in that auction who could match up to the Scarlet Moon, I could easily guess who these new guests were. It was a few minutes later when that answer revealed itself.

Now, I expected at least one of them to arrive, but I honestly didn't think to see two flags rising high over the plume of smoke in the near horizon.

The flag on the right was that of the red sun and yellow field of the Sunspire Dominion. Underneath it, a company of kobolds and elves led by a small group of salamanders had come into view.

The second flag on the left was floating much higher in the sky than the first as it was being carried by a pixie at the front of a small army of pixies gliding above a second, much larger group of soldiers of all kinds of fairy races. Riding at the front of this group on a dark green swifthart with the largest antlers I'd ever seen was a visere with chin-length brown hair.

Based on the flag above them — the falling six-pointed silver star at the center of a blue field — I knew immediately that the Lord of Stars had come himself.

An odd thing that struck me about these new arrivals was their small numbers. Each had brought around a hundred only which was roughly the same size as Ardeen's group.

I pondered this while we waited for them to get closer, and I deduced that there was a chance none of them, not even Ardeen, was certain I and my crew would choose this route. If that were so, it meant that Ashley's team was currently in a similar situation as us but with much larger forces to contend with. It also meant we had a time limit. Once those other forces realized we weren't with Ashley's group, they would immediately race their way here to reinforce the companies at this site.

"Stay frosty, guys… we're going to escape this three-way deathmatch the moment a chance opens up," I said as I slipped into our circle formation.

"I a.s.sume the McCords had something to do with this?" Aura asked.

"Yup… It really is a gamble. This tactic Collin thought up, but at least we don't have to deal with Spellweaver all on our own," I answered.

"There are enough swiftharts for us to steal, Dean," Qwipps added. "Once the chest pumping gets underway…"

"Yeah, I think so too… But let's sit back and watch the show for now," I answered. "Enna, be ready to vanish…"

"Understood, Commander," she answered.

Their arrival was much more orderly than I would have thought it would be. I expected some arrow shots, a few sword clashes, even some name-calling at least. But no, they simply kept their distance from each other and lined up their forces to surround the other sides of the oasis.

From a bird's eye view you would have us to the right entrance of the small oasis with Ardeen Spellweaver's unit to our direct east, Lord Rah's company to our north, and the Lord of Stars' troops to our west. Basically, we were in the eye of what promised to be a storm of shadowblades and blood.

While the rest of their soldiers maintained their line, the other two leaders strode forward on their swiftharts, and I finally got a close-up view of my rivals back in the auction house.

Lord Rah, astride his white swifthart, wore the same golden robe and halo collar he had on during the auction, but now he carried a golden spear in his right hand that had a shadowblade tip that leaked vapor from its edge.

The tips of his flowing red hair smoldered as if they were a second away from combusting into flames. He had a sun-kissed face with reptilian eyes that were a deep crimson. The scale markings on his skin seemed to burn with their own inner light.

The other rider who'd stepped forward was none other than the Lord of Stars himself.

He was a big, muscular man who was s.h.i.+rtless underneath his leather coat. On his back were two identical-looking swords that were both as longer than my height.

His wavy brown-hair was an unruly mess in the night breeze. He had a pale, scruffy face with bushy eyebrows hanging above wide amber eyes. His nose was straight like a movie star's and his smile was the kind you'd see at a red carpet.

Out of the three leaders, only the Lord of Stars seemed at ease. He moved his swifthart all the way to within six feet of our party's encirclement. Then he sent me the same soldier's salute he'd given me earlier in the night.

"You look like you're in a bind, man," he said heartily. Then he leaned forward and said, "Want me to bail you out?"

I took a few seconds to consider his proposition, but I couldn't just accept without probing him some more.

"That letter you sent me… you said you'd let me have this win," I reminded him.

He leaned back in his seat. "And I meant it, too… but after I saw these guys mobilizing, I figured I'd come and see if you needed my help."

"I'm a.s.suming there's a catch?" I asked.

"You a.s.sume correctly." He rubbed his thumb and fingers together. "There's something I want that's in your power to give."

He spared a knowing glance at Aura beside me.

Thinking back on all the ladies around his arm, I was already prepared to reject his proposal. No way would I give Aura away to this lecher. But then he said something that was really quite astonis.h.i.+ng.

"I want the scent of the fairy who survived the deadliest toxin known to the Fayne," he said.

Before I could even finish processing that strange request, the other two lords arrived to join the discussion.

The Lord of Stars turned his attentions on the other two, sending each of them an intense glare that they returned right back at him. It seemed these three weren't about to back down from each other.

After what was a tense non-verbal exchange of sizing each other up, the first to speak was Lord Rah.

"I'm surprised to find you outside of a brothel, Christopher," Lord Rah said, in a quiet voice that belied the intensity of his gaze.

"The south was getting a little too quiet for me," Lord of Stars replied in the same relaxed tone he'd given me. "I thought I'd come up and see what kind of trouble I could get into."

"Liar," Lord Rah spat. "You were lulled into my domain by the same thing that brought so many other fools."

The three pairs of eyes focused on Ty, and he seemed to visibly shrink from their gaze.

"What will it take for you two miscreants to leave?" Lord Rah asked.

"Excuse me?" Lord of Stars asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You want to bribe us?" Ardeen Spellweaver confirmed with a similarly raised eyebrow.

"You're an elf who murdered his own father to attain power while this one," Lord inclined his head toward the Lord of Stars, "is known to overindulge himself in all manner of pleasures… Yes, I a.s.sume you can be bribed."

The Lord of Stars laughed a long and hearty laugh that ended with the drawing of one of his swords.

"Those are fighting words, fire-eater," he said still in his jovial tone.

The Lord of Stars brandished his weapon menacingly at Lord Rah who had pointed his spear tip back at the Lord of Stars.

"And here I thought we were in the middle of negotiations," Ardeen Spellweaver sighed.

And while the three of them resumed another bout of death stares, Aura tapped on my arm to get my attention.

"I think I know what the Lord of Stars wants," Aura whispered.

"What is it?" I asked in an undertone.

"He has the gift of sense like you… his must be related to smell," she revealed. "And the scent he wants… I think he means the scent of my brother… and if so, then we can give that to him."

"Seriously?" I asked with a furrowed brow. "You're not worried about whatever perverted thing he plans to do with Auranos' scent?"

"We'll deal with it then, isn't that what you always say?" she reminded me. "What matters is that we now might have a definite exit strategy."

I sighed. She was right. All other concerns were secondary to escaping.

"Alright, Chris Pint," my voice was loud enough to interrupt the argument of the three lords. "I'll bet on you. Get us out of here and you've got a deal."