River
Menon’s timely appearance changed everything.Their expectations were higher, their outlook, brighter; no more were they refugees cowering in the newly-restored Caelos Shrine, waiting for the next raid, smoke still burning their lungs.War was imminent, and now they glorified it.
They had Menon.They would survive.
They still mourned their losses, made each night both a funeral and celebration, aided by enough liquor – donated by the Tannos; thank you, Hilo – to kill an average-sized whale.River joined them whenever he needed a break from his parents’ paltry attempts to reconnect with him, raising his glass and grieving his home of the past eleven years.
He drank to the life he’d lost; to his belongings, his books and piano and memories, all a smudge of ash on the flagstones.He drank to Ione, who slinked into a small room at the end of the dormitory, refusing all visitors but Cynthia.He drank to Kai, whose new mantle came with a guilt he didn’t know how to cope with.
With Kai unreachable, it was up to River to be awake, aware, the voice of reason.The one dragging Kai out of his room every morning and into attempted talks with the high priests, River, hungover; Kai, already on his third drink.Now that Menon had manifested, River’s own status increased.Holy Seleneschal, a leader, the role he thought he wanted.
But what he wanted was support.Guidance.He wanted Kai back.
River monitored him on their fourth or fifth night in Caelos, the banquet hall sweltering despite the early autumn chill and pounding with music and drunken uproar.With a high table near the bar the only thing keeping River upright, he tuned out the pulse of drums and trill of flutes and fixed his gaze on Kai, spinning in endless circles with endless sycophants in the middle of the floor.
Watching Kai was his job, but that didn’t make it fun.
“How you holding up?”came Hilo’s voice behind him.He leaned his elbows on the table, a bottle of wine clunking against the wood.“Kai seems fucking cured.Typical.”
River nodded, his mind flashing to the other night, when Kai learned that Menon would heal him automatically if he was hurt.Look!, he’d shouted, his hand drenched with blood but unscarred after he’d accidentally broken a glass.He grabbed another shard, despair trumped briefly by discovery.I wonder how far She’ll let me go?
Very, as it turned out; Saros, once told of it by Nalu, surmised that as long as Kai’s heart still beat, Menon would save him.Kai considered himself a scientist, but to the high priests, he was more a creature pinned beneath a magnifying glass.
“Try not to worry,” Hilo said, although his voice darkened.“It’s not my first crisis minding the prick.’Least as drunk as he is, he’ll have a hard time making a killing shot.”
River rubbed the memory from his eyes and necked his drink, some liquor that tasted like chemicals and depression.“Let’s not let him get to that point,” he grumbled, thumping the empty glass back down.
Hilo half-smiled, weary, and rested his chin in one hand, both of them taking in the sights and sounds of another night of debauchery.Holy priests danced with uncouthTannosi; traumatised acolytes sang through tears to celebrate their immolated loved ones; rowdyLeviathosichallenged uptight guards to drinking games.And all the while Kai floated amongst a cloud of enamoured priests, all vying to touch his hands and arms and face, to be the ones to refill his drinks, to win a dance from him.
Not from him.From Menon.
“You’re in charge of him tonight,” Hilo said, like River wasn’t already.“Mam’s arriving on the Cetos tomorrow and I’m not losing another night’s sleep babysitting the cunt.”
River saluted, but his eyes were still on Kai, who was growing annoyed with one priestess who clung to him.He held up his hands and said something, shook his head,I don’t want it; she pulled at him and kissed his cheek, his lips.
“Oh, no,” Hilo said blandly when Kai jerked away, teeth bared.“You’d better step in.”
River was already moving when the high crackle of glass resounded.For a moment Kai looked like he was being swallowed, priests pawing futilely at him as though he needed a healer, the priestess smoothing his hair back, oblivious to how close Kai was to biting.He stilled, relaxing, when he saw River weaving through the throng to get to him.
“My seleneschal,” Kai announced, casting for River’s sleeve.“Here to save the day.”He waved the priestess, the rest of them off and placed River between him and them.“So g’way with yez, ye fucking pack of spiders.”
Faced with their goddess’s handler, the spiders retreated,Apologies, Holiness, apologies.River merely sighed and pushed Kai back towards the bar.“Let’s get you some water, Kai.”
“Water!Coming right up.”He held up his hands and frowned like he wasn’t sure what he was looking at.River clapped his hands over Kai’s and held them down.
“Nomagic.If you flood the hall again, Hilo will eat the head off me.”
Kai cackled.“Eat the head offa ye!You’re a real southern man now.”
River dumped him at the bar and waved over the charitable soul who’d agreed to play bartender.“I’m learning all your stupid phrases.”He slid a pint of water in front of Kai.“Drink.You’re mangled.”
“Oh,mangled, am I, mate?”Kai challenged, putting on River’s Sterlingdale accent, or an approximation of it.“Mangled doesn’t even cover it, mate.”He drained the water and slammed the glass down.“I’m off mytits, mate.Bloodyossified, mate.”
“I have literally never called anyonemate.”
“And well bloody chuffed about it, too, mate.Anything to numb my brain against these gormless fucking spiders, all – ” Kai gestured helplessly.“ –spider-ing all over me.”
River pressed his fingertips to his eyelids.He felt himself sway, his ribs crashing against the bar.“Are you done?”
