Tempered by the Will

22 - Expendable

Ah. Now he was reminded why he didn't let Vica make her own life and death decisions. She had the self-preserving instincts of a lemming.

"No." Constantine's refusal was flat and brooked no argument. "You're not walking straight into her territory and giving yourself up."

"I didn't say I was giving mys -"

"House Murena is dangerous. I don't know what kind of plan you think you have that will keep you safe, but you're not doing it."

The shocked expression that she had worn seconds ago when he asked her opinion vaporized in an instant. A knowing, irritated look replaced it, and he knew that whatever little redemption he had just found with her had also disappeared just now. But what were his choices? To pretend to encourage her? She would take it and run with it straight into trouble.

"Vica, he's right." Felix was backing him up now, good man. He'd better. "I understand better than most the necessity for putting on a strong front, but this will only put you in her hands. As I said before, she operates a prolific magic academy in her territory, and even the acolytes of her House's Charter are stronger than those of the others because of it. Her army is dangerous."

"And that same army will come here if I don't go. It's better to intercept them before they ever get here."

"I understand you went against the Order's forces a while back and prevailed, but this is different. Lady Murena's forces will come prepared specifically for you."

"I'm aware. And I'm prepared for that, too. What I'm not prepared for is an all out bloodbath between your people and hers. I'm not going to sit here like a prize pheasant and watch people die around me because of some political games the Murena woman wants to play. If she wants me, I intend to come for her and make her work for it."

Constantine narrowed his eyes. Her damned conscience at work again. She should be glad Felix had bodies available to die for her. Most didn't have that luxury, why wasn't she taking advantage of it? Was it so appalling that a few people would meet their end so that she could survive? She thought she was meant for greater things, didn't she? That meant her life was worth more than theirs; it was that simple.

"...I'll do my best to protect my House and its vassals," Felix replied after a pause and a glance around at Constantine as if he expected him to add something to that. No chance. He'd already pissed off Vica as it was; Felix could bear the burden of it for a bit. "The ones I've called on today - I assure you that their loyalty to the cause is real. They know the price they could pay, but it is well worth it if it means keeping you safe."

She turned her head away and looked at the wall, a sure sign that she didn't like what she had just heard. Constantine grimaced. Didn't the duke have anything more compelling to say?

"I didn't ask for anyone to put their lives on the line for me," she said, and her tone was final. "And I'd rather that didn't happen, by the way. I'm not saying that I'll walk defenseless into Murena's home, so you don't need to worry about that. But I do know she's afraid of me - or at least of what I can do. So I'll go find her instead. I mean, look at those mages she sent earlier. Bren said they were all acolytes, is that true?"

She glanced at her other side to the half-elf who nodded to confirm it, then she looked at Felix who nodded as well - reluctantly, as if he were afraid to encourage whatever she was about to say. Too late. She was opening her mouth again, and Constantine exhaled a long, quiet sigh.

"She must have thought of the possibility that I wouldn't come willingly. Those acolytes or whatever - the one who did all the talking made it sound like they thought I was being held against my will, but when I came out, obviously they realized that wasn't the case. But they tried to stay the course anyway, so they must have been told to bring me no matter what. But look, she sent acolytes. You told me that she has powerful mages under her, but she didn't send them. She sent the acolytes. They're weaker, right?"

Felix nodded, clearly uncomfortable.

"Which means they're less valuable to her, too. She seems just the sort to play games with lives that way, anyhow."

The duke nodded again, more slowly this time.

"Seems obvious why she'd do that, to me at least. You don't wear nice new clothes when you know they're about to be ruined, and you don't wear your new shoes when it's raining out. So she probably sent the acolytes instead of stronger mages because she was afraid of losing any of the latter, right?"

Constantine stared at her. She was right, of course. It didn't change his mind about whether he intended to let her go, but this was not the Vica he thought he knew. The way she had phrased it all was crude and plain, but it wasn't nearly as short-sighted an analysis as he'd expected from her.

Or maybe he'd just missed it all along. She was capable of seeing more than just the things right in front of her face, after all - he had to admit that much. If she couldn't, she wouldn't be so obsessed the way she was with the idea of upending the Capital's system of government.

"In the end, the acolytes all survived, and you sent them packing before they could see what I was capable of. So Lady Murena still knows nothing about what I can do, apart from whatever rumors she's heard about the night at the Steps."

Constantine frowned at that, and when he glanced over at Felix, he saw that he was doing the same. The duke managed to ask the question before he did:

"The Steps?" he repeated. "Do you mean -"

"The Steps of Tiamat. Isn't that what you call it? Bren called it that, the place where I went against the Order's army. You know, the valley where I pulled up the river."

"The Steps of Tiamat..." A strange look flickered over Felix's face. "Bren? That's the name you know the place by?"

From where he stood, the half-elf gave no answer, just a faint smile.

"What does it matter?" Vica asked impatiently a second later. "Names aren't important right now. We're talking about Murena."

"Of course. Just - it's a very old name. I know it because of my grandfather and his peculiar habits...but it's very, very old. I don't think but a few scholars would recognize it." Felix's frown deepened, and Constantine echoed the sentiment. Then again, every little thing about the elfling made him suspicious.

"...Well, we can go over and compare notes later..." Her voice wasn't testy, but there was a note of resignation as if she were already tired of speaking.

"Yes, I apologize. Go on, Vica."

"Right. Anyway, so she'll still be cautious of me. I want to go and knock on her territory's doors, make her panic a little. If I come to her, she'll feel compelled to try to protect what's hers, right? She won't want to provoke me into an all out fight without knowing what I'm really capable of. She'll have to be careful, and I can take advantage of that. What if she attacks me, and I end up decimating her forces, all her resources? She might gain me, but she could lose so much. She has to be thinking that way. Otherwise, she would have gone all in already instead of..."

"Sending expendable bodies to try to collect you the first time, yes. I understand that. But..." Felix trailed off. Constantine waited for him to continue, but after several seconds, he realized what was happening: the damned duke was actually considering what she was saying.

"No," he snapped, and he rose to his feet from his chair. "That's not happening. You're not walking into the Murena's domain. Get your things."

"I'm -"

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, doesn't matter to me. We're leaving."

The derisive snort that garnered from her made him stop short. She was looking at him now, eyes boring into him with such a disgusted, disappointed look that he could only answer with a silent grimace and nothing else. Why was she being this way? Didn't she realize he was trying to keep her alive?

"I should have known you'd do this," she said, her voice unusually crisp and deliberate. "Alright, Constantine. I know this song and dance. Are you going to tie me up this time, too? Or are you just going to drag me out?"

He tensed. A flash of an old memory brushed past his mind. Rope between his hands, the coarse binds rubbing against his fingers as he trussed Vica up with her hands behind her back. It had been so long ago that he'd forgotten -

"Don't do this right now," he said. "I'm trying to stop you from killing yourself."

"If you ask me, I'd rather you give me just an ounce of the respect you give your enemies. What I'd give for that. I might even want to die for it -"

"Did you think I was going to stand by and watch you walk right into -"

"Wait, Constantine," Felix interrupted, and both of them stopped to look at the man. He looked tired - and aggravated. "She has a point. We'll talk it over some more. I think it's worth examining, especially if it'll save lives..."

With a low snarl, he turned away and dropped back down into his chair.

Fine, he thought. He'd let her think she'd won.

For now.