The Duke of Tremont II - Bloodspell

Chapter 39
 

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Even as Kipton came up with the idea he knew he must do whatever he could to save Justin from this perilous fate. Kipton owed the young man that much at least. He understood enough of the mage to know there was no way Justin would let Kipton sacrifice himself alone. Justin would consider this duel both of theirs to fight to whatever end. Justin's self-sacrificing nobleness was one of the traits Kipton greatly admired, and envied, about the young man.

So it was with a stoic silence that he met Justin's eyes and nodded as they took hands. He spared a glance over to Duke Brian, who was positively humming with tension and grief, making Kipton suspect he had guessed their intentions. He prayed to whatever god that would listen to his sorry self that Brian would be fast enough once Kipton put his own plan into action.

Justin squeezed his hand. Thank you for helping us. We would have been defeated without you, he spoke softly into Kipton's mind.

It is I who should be thanking you, young Justin. You could have just let Duke Brian slit my throat when he had the chance.

Then we all would be dead now. Justin smiled wryly at Kipton, before turning one last longing look on his lover. After just a few seconds he spoke into Kipton's mind again, while letting his powers burn brightly. Let's do this.

Kipton gripped Justin's hand tighter, thought of the audacity of Duke James and this new adept and let his own magic burn brightly through his body, even as he pulled Justin and they began a dead run right at Mahala.

Just as Kipton hit the beautiful adept, whose face was frozen with a look of shock and horror, full force, he did two things. He violently pushed Justin as hard as he could to get him out of the blast zone, and he called out to Duke Brian as soon as he felt Mahala's mind spell break. Save him! Was all he managed to get out before impact, as a bright explosion burst out of the now defunct wards and Kipton and Mahala were literally blown to dust.

Once the blinding light died down and the other's could see what had happened, members of both sides stared in shock at the pile of ash on the ground where the powerful mages once stood. Brian stared at the spot thinking dully that he must have imagined Kipton's last words to him. How could he possible have saved his Justin from this destruction. He felt himself start to be sick, when he spotted something on the ground, laying near a scorched rock, not far from the blast zone. He heart leapt in his throat as he realized it was a body, and he saw the tuft of blond hair that shone through the black grime. "Justin!" he screamed as loud has he could into the dazed silence that still surrounded them. "Justin!"

Jonathan tore his teary gaze from the wreckage of the duel, and looked to the sound of the voice screaming Justin's name. He immediately came to his senses and called to his men.

"To me! To me! We must rescue Duke Brian!"

Luckily, Mahala's brute who had been holding Brian hostage seemed to be in shock. He slid off the horse, leaving Brian unattended as he made his way to the battlefield to try and find anything left of his dead mistress. Brian used the man's absence to spur the horse toward his brother, using only the strength of his legs to keep his seat. "Jon!" he called as he approached the king and his men. "Cut me free! I must go to Justin!"

Jon heaved a sigh, wondering how his brother would survive this blow. "Brian," he called out to his brother in a low, coaxing tone, figuring he would have to wrestle the man away from the grisly scene of his lover's demise. Jonathan had no hope that the younger man could have survived this.

Suddenly, Hunter spotted Justin's body and realized his uncle's haste. He raced his horse to meet Brian's, and taking his dagger out, quickly cut the tight bonds from Brian‘s hands.

"Thanks," Brian said curtly as he wheeled his mount and raced to his lover's still form. He threw himself to the ground before the horse even came to a full halt and landed on his knees at Justin's side.

Hunter rode back to the others. "It's Justin, father! I'm going to get Daphne and Kelton."
"Oh, God!" Jonathan began to race to Brian's side as well. "Be sure to find Duke James!" he shouted back to the group, almost as an afterthought, in his haste to get to Brian and Justin. Michael, Ben, Bishop Vic and Timothy followed him while Tristan and the generals worked on rounding up any opposition they still might be facing from the enemy and making sure Duke James was captured in all the confusion.

Brian gingerly rolled Justin over and sucked in his breath. He looked...oh God...he looked dead. His skin was burned and blistered, even black in some spots. It reminded Brian of the accident in Dryden's work room when Justin had burned himself with the backlash of a spell, but much worse. He didn't even bother to check for breath or a pulse, he just began the incantation of the spell that would heal his lover. He had to save him, for Brian there was simply no other choice.

When the others arrived they all shared looks of trepidation. Justin was so still and his skin charred. They were frightened that Brian was too late, but they sat back and let Brian try, for it was all they could do.

Tristan and his generals had both armies under control. The mercenaries were all either captured or running for the borders, and the soldiers who had been bespelled by Mahala were all willing to swear fealty to their king again. Of Duke James there was still no sign, much to Tristan's consternation. He knew it would not be truly over until his traitorous uncle was found and dealt with.

He began to make his way over to where the others were with Brian and Justin. He had grown quite fond of the two men over the last months and was concerned for them both. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure on horseback burst from the trees with his sword drawn. He was heading straight for the group of men around Justin, all of whom were crouched on the ground and vulnerable.

"Highness, watch out! It's Duke James!" Tristan called out, even as he grabbed his bow from his back and knocked an arrow. He let his arrow fly just as Jonathan stood with his own sword drawn.

Jonathan blocked the blow that was obviously aimed at Brian's head just as Tristan's arrow miraculously found its target in James' right eye, where the older man had carelessly left his visor up. Duke James' body soundlessly slid from his horse and Tristan pounded up to them. Jonathan looked up at the young king. "Excellent shooting, your majesty!"

Tristan tipped his head to the side. "Good riddance to bad rubbish I always say." He looked behind him at Blake, who had been following the young king closely. He winked at his uncle, knowing that Blake had magically guided the arrow that had killed his uncle."

The others shared a small chuckle as Tristan gestured for his men to remove the duke's body. Just then Brian let out a gasp and Justin moaned.

Everyone turned their attention back to the two men just as Justin opened his eyes. "Brian?" he asked weakly, his voice sounding raw and raspy. His worst burns had been healed , but his skin still looked red and tender, and some blisters remained.

Brian leaned down. "I'm here, Sunshine. You're going to be fine."

Justin's eyes roved over the men surrounding him. "But…how…Kipton?"

"He saved you, Jus," Brian replied with a catch in his voice. "Kipton pushed you out at the last moment."

"No," Justin protested. "It wasn't…he wasn't."

Brian felt the dark guilt creep into Justin's psyche, much like it had when Justin blamed himself for his mother's death, and he ran a gentle hand through Justin's hair. "Shhh, Sunshine, calm down. I don't think Kipton ever really meant for you to die with him. He knew he could take her out himself. He just knew that you wouldn't go along with it."

"I was ready to die," Justin rasped out. "But I was so sad that I couldn't say good bye to you."

Brian pulled Justin to him. "God! I was so frightened of losing you." Brian's exhausted tears streamed down his face and he looked to be on the verge of collapse.

"It's all right now, brother." Jonathan wrapped a supporting arm around Brian. "And now here are Daphne and Kelton," he soothed. "They'll have Justin right as rain in no time."
Brian could only nod and he leaned into his brother for strength.

Daphne and Kelton quickly assessed Justin's condition and had him on a litter and headed back to camp in a matter of minutes. Daphne stopped and felt Brian's head. "You've exhausted yourself again and you've got a fever. Come, I want you in the healer's tent too." She turned away and hurried to catch up with the men carrying Justin.

"More nasty potions," Brian grumbled as Jonathan helped him to his feet.

"I would drink them for you if I could." Michael ducked his head under Brian's other arm so that he was helping Jonathan bear his friend's weight on the other side.

"I'll give you a bag of gold if you will," Brian coaxed his oldest friend as he stumbled a bit and Michael caught him and Michael and Jonathan adjusted Brian's arms over their shoulders to give him more support.

"No way," Michael replied. Besides, it is for your own good."

"I still think Melanie is still just trying to torture me from afar."

They all laughed, happy to hear Brian's sense of humor still intact, and knowing his light mood meant that Justin would be fine as well.

 

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Brian awoke abruptly from a sound sleep and sat up, as he groggily tried to figure out where he was. Finally all the images of recent events began to piece together and judging from the amount of light seeping through the canvas, he figured out that it must be early morning the day after the battle with Maynor. He heard a small whimper next to him and realized Justin was having a nightmare. Ever since Justin's ordeal with Kipton, Brian was finely tuned to Justin's sleeping patterns, and woke easily, ready to help soothe away nightmares almost as soon as they started.

Brian reached down and gently stroked his lover's hair off his face, relieved that between him, Kelton and Daphne, Justin's burns were almost completely gone. The two men had been sleeping in the bed that Justin had made for them in Brian and Jonathan's tent. Daphne had given them permission to leave the healer's area, declaring that all they really needed was rest, and their cozy nest would be as good a place as any, though she did insist on checking on the two of them throughout the night.

Justin pulled his head away from Brian's hand, and cried out, as his eyes flew open. "Brian?" he questioned when he saw his lover.

"I'm here." Brian cupped Justin's cheek with his hand.

Justin looked around and struggled to sit up. Brian helped him and placed an arm around
Justin's shoulders. "Where are we? What happened?" Justin asked sleepily.

Brian frowned, worried about Justin's memory. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Everything gets fuzzy after I woke up."

"Um, which time you woke up?" Brian sounded hesitant.

Justin pulled away and eyed Brian strangely, then it dawned on him what his lover was worried about. "Oh, I mean the time I woke up right after you brought me back; after the duel, I mean. Don't worry, I remember everything else."

Brian visibly relaxed. "Well, you were pretty out of it. We both were. They brought us both back here to sleep, and Daphne has been checking on us, but I really only woke up one time when she was here."

Justin peered around the dim interior of the tent and grinned. "Oh! We're in our bed!"

"Yes, we are." Brian smiled, and then it faded a bit. "Do you want to tell me about your dream?"

Justin's smiled dimmed as well. "I don't even really remember. I think I was trapped in Mahala's mind, and Kipton was there…I can't recall any more."

"How do you feel about Kipton's death?"

"It's a little early for the hard questions," Justin replied with a wry smile.

"I'm sorry. We can go back to sleep if you…"

"I'm teasing you," Justin interrupted. "I'm grateful to Kipton for saving my life, and I'm sad that he died just when he had redeemed himself."

"His life was forfeit anyway, Justin, and he knew it." Brian shifted and lay back down, pulling Justin with him until Justin's head lay upon his chest. "Tristan would have had to execute him anyway for his crimes. This way he got to die a hero."

"I suppose that's one way to look at it," Justin replied. They were both silent for a long while and Brian thought Justin had fallen back asleep, but then the younger man spoke again. "Brian?"

"Yes, love?"

"Does it make me a bad person if there was a tiny part of me that still hated Kipton?"

"God, no." Brian kissed the top of Justin's head. "It just makes you human."

"Hmm, I'm still really tired." Justin's eyes drooped shut.

"Sleep, Sunshine." Brian kissed him again. "Sleep as long as you want. You deserve it."

 

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