Chapter Forty-seven

 

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door, interrupting the family. Damir stood there with a man in shackles, gagged and struggling against him and Alexi.

 

“They had another friend besides the one who slipped off the boat,” Damir said stiffly. “He tried to get weapons, but that was quickly squashed. If you need to drop a body off the side, just let Ludwig know and we’ll arrange it.”

 

“Thank you,” Doc said as he reached out for the prisoner. “Captain, might my wives use your cabin while we talk with this man?”

 

Damir nodded. “Of course. No reason for them to have to witness things.”

 

“Thank you.” Doc looked back to Lia. “A hand please, Death Flower.”

 

Lia’s expression went cold. “Of course, Shaman.”

 

The surprise on all three faces in the hall had the exact effect Doc wanted it to have. Doc and Lia yanked the man into the cabin before the door slammed shut. That made the room very snug, but Lia resolved that by knocking the captive to his knees, then to his face with no regard for his health.

 

“Ayla, Sophia, if you’d like to step out?” Doc asked softly.

 

“Yes. Thank you.” Sophia said, easing off the bed, being careful of her talons. “I’m sorry… I can’t…”

 

Doc hugged her, kissing her cheek. “I know. It’s fine, my love.”

 

“I’ll go with her,” Ayla said. She put a foot directly in the man’s back as she walked over him. “It would be troubling to see if things go badly.”

 

Doc gave her a hug and kiss, too, before they left the room. Rosa’s gaze was intently focused on the man on the floor. Lia had a knee between his shoulder blades, keeping him pinned. When Doc closed the door once more behind his wives, he went over to where the man could see him with a single eye as he struggled underneath Lia.

 

“You failed. Your friends failed. The church will fail,” Doc said softly as he took a seat on the edge of a bed. “The question becomes when did you send for the inquisitor, and why this mad gamble?”

 

The man glared at him, but there was puzzlement in his gaze, as Doc hadn’t ungagged him. He mumbled around the thick wad of cloth that’d been forced between his jaws. The little struggles the guy made stopped when Lia’s Bowie thunked into the deck next to him. The blade gleamed in the light from the hooded lantern in the room.

 

“Lia, my wife who’s kneeling on you, is Death Flower. I know you recognized that name, which means you’ve heard the stories, right? Of what she did during the Bloody Flowers War? Now, she’s upset that someone tried to kill me. How much pain you’re going to know is fully dependent on how cooperative you are.”

 

“He’s not afraid of pain,” Rosa said, “but is he afraid of having his soul ripped out by a demon?”

 

The man began to thrash in earnest. Lia had to clamp a hand on his neck as she knelt on him with both knees. Even then, he still tried to get free.

 

“The answer is ‘yes,’” Doc smiled. “Afraid of Apoc not claiming your soul? Good, good. We can work with that. I’ll tell you what: you start thinking about what the whole plan was, and I’ll not ever touch you again. Your soul will remain intact and Apoc will claim it. Fair?”

 

The man slowly stopped thrashing. He couldn’t figure out what Doc wanted; how could he talk if the gag was in place? Death was just a doorway to Apoc, but if the false healer corrupted his soul with the demon who backed him, then even Apoc would turn away from someone as faithful as him. It was better to tell the demon lover and remain unsullied.

 

Rosa hummed happily as she rode through the thoughts the man had. The humming cut off and her eyes blazed brighter than they ever had before; not in lust, but in rage. She dropped to the deck next to him, grabbing him by the skull and slamming his face into the wood. “No! No, they won’t!”

 

Doc had to grab Rosa, pulling her onto the bed with him. “Shhh… it’s okay. What did you see?”

 

“The inquisitors are coming, but so are the others. They planned to board the ship when they get here tomorrow. If the train didn’t stay here at night, they would’ve been here already. They planned to board with a mob to attack us and kill any disloyal to the church,” Rosa whispered. “Their missing friend stayed in town to guide them to us. The inquisitor tasked them with attempting to kill you. Then, it would be far easier for them tomorrow.”

 

“That’s how most shamans and Voices died in the past, killed by zealots,” Lia said tightly. “Did we get everything we can from him, Rosa?”

 

“Yes. He’s just a zealot.”

 

Doc kissed Rosa softly. “Go get our wives and ask Ludwig to arrange pickup for this one. After I go with him topside, I’ll need you when I come back down.”

 

“Doc, let me. It’ll trouble me far less than it will you. Better for rumors to say that I killed someone rather than you,” Lia said.

 

Doc met her gaze which was once again devoid of warmth. “We’ll be surrounding you in love all night after that.”

 

A tremor passed through her. “I will welcome it. This part of me is not what I want to be anymore. For our family, I will take it out, wear it as needed, and then put it away again.”

 

“We will help,” Rosa said before she left the room.

 

The moment she was gone, Doc looked down at the zealot. “No one will remember you. You’ll sink into the harbor just like so much other refuse. I’m a man of my word, though, so I won’t corrupt your soul. What you don’t understand is that I don’t corrupt people’s souls— I try to bring them back to Mother so you can be saved. You aren’t worthy of saving as far into the night as you are. So here, shortly, when you die, only oblivion awaits you. The church cannot stop the light that’s growing. This world has already been saved from the Darkness.”

 

The man glared at him, still not fully understanding what’d happened. In his heart, he knew that the church would crush this false preacher. His life was a small price to pay for the cleansing of the blight this man represented.

 

Doc and Lia got the bound man to his feet just as a knock came on the door. Doc answered it to find Alexi and another dwarf standing there; both looked surprised to see the man still alive.

 

“Ah… we were told to get a body?” Alexi asked slowly.

 

“Lia will accompany you to the deck. She’ll kill him where he can be tossed over the side with minimal cleanup,” Doc said. “Tell the captain the unwanted guests are arriving in the morning on the train. I’d thought the riverboat being late was coincidental, but now, I worry. If it isn’t here by the afternoon, we’ll need to head out and stop at a port where I can buy one, then go farther north.”

 

“Understood,” Alexi grunted.

 

“If he struggles, I can help make him more pliant,” Lia said, going back to claim her knife. “If he wants a slow death, it’d be easy to just sever some tendons, then let him drown.”

 

The man stopped struggling; even zealots had preferences in how to die.

 

“Obliged,” Alexi said tightly, nervous around Lia now that he knew her other name.

 

When they left, Ayla, Sophia, and Rosa came back to the room. Doc hugged his wives, sitting with them on the bed. They huddled into him, wanting to show their support and love as best they could.

 

“How bad was it?” Ayla asked.

 

“Not bad,” Rosa answered. “Doc got him to think about what we wanted. He wasn’t injured at all.”

 

“Oh, good…” Sophia exhaled. “We saw him being led away. Where’s Lia going?”

 

“To make sure he’s gone,” Doc answered, not wanting to spell it out. “She’ll be back shortly. When she comes back, we’ll be spending the rest of the night loving her.”

 

“What was found out?” Ayla asked.

 

“The inquisitors will be here as soon as the train runs to Olimna and back.”

 

“The zealots were to kill Doc if they were able to, but otherwise, the inquisitors were going to storm the ship,” Rosa said, expanding on his answer. “The zealot was sure they would kill all of us and anyone who got in the way.”

 

“With us being out from the dock, they’ll have trouble with that,” Doc said, picking the conversation back up. “With any luck, the riverboat will be here in the morning. We can winch it up the side and set out. If it’s not, we’ll leave and go try to find another boat.”

 

“Emerita is not safe for us right now,” Ayla sighed. “It might not be safe after we’re done in Pale River, either.”

 

“The inquisitors will try to find out where we’re headed, then track us down again,” Sophia said.

 

“Which will be with the tribes up north. If they want to find us there, they get what they deserve. I won’t let them hurt you.” He met Sophia’s eyes for the last sentence.

 

She ducked her head. “I’m not afraid for myself, Doc. Well… yes, I am, but not like that. I… I just don’t like killing. It’s clear that it’ll happen sometimes. I know the church will force it, but it bothers me.”

 

Ayla leaned past Doc to kiss Sophia softly. “I know how that is. If it’s them or us, though, I’ll help Doc make sure it’s them dying.”

 

Sophia nodded. “As will I, but I don’t even like to think about it.”

 

Rosa shifted to touch Sophia’s thigh. “I will always be here to help with what comes after. You’ll never be burdened by the memories. You mean more to our family than anyone outside of it.”

 

“Thank you, Rosa,” Sophia said, leaning down to gently kiss Rosa’s forehead. “You really do so much for us…”

 

The soft sound of a single gunshot filtered down to them, catching everyone’s attention.

 

“That’s the last zealot dead,” Doc said. “Ladies, after the tribes in Pale River, it might be necessary for me to lose myself for a few years. I was thinking… would you be okay with returning to Fiala and Sonya for that? I’d make sure you get to experience what our other wives already are. This way, you’re all safe together, and get to be mothers.”

 

Ayla and Sophia went quiet as they considered his question. They both yearned to be mothers, but neither of them wanted Doc to feel like they didn’t want to be beside him, either.

 

“He asks because he is thinking that just he, Lia, and I will be easier to hide. It’s not that he does not want you there, nor you not wanting to be with him,” Rosa said. “He also knows you both hope for children. He can give you what you want, keep you safer with our wives, and make it harder for the church to find him. With all four of you near the templars that Harrid is raising, he is certain you’ll be safe.”

 

“Can we think about it?” Ayla asked.

 

“Take as long as you need,” Doc murmured, kissing her and then Sophia. “If things go badly, it might be best for me to go to Tsarrus or Qin. The church would have a difficult time finding me there. Take your time, though, as that’s months away, if not longer.”

 

Lia came into the room a moment later, her face blank. “It’s done.”

 

They all opened their arms and she walked stiffly to them. Minutes passed as she slowly pushed that cold, deadly side of herself back down, letting emotions come back. Having all of them holding her and supporting her helped make it far easier than it would’ve been for her alone. In time, she took another sip of Rosa’s nectar to help settle her emotions further.

 

“Thank you…” Lia said softly. “I’m better now.”

 

“Good. We’re going to wash up and go to bed. Tomorrow will come soon enough, likely bringing more troubles,” Doc said. “Before we go to sleep, though, we’ll smother you in kisses, touches, and love.”

 

“You are never alone,” Ayla murmured, rubbing Lia’s back.

 

“Even if it’s just Doc and Rosa beside you, you’ll never be alone,” Sophia said, thinking about what Doc had asked.

 

“We are glad to help you, Lia,” Rosa murmured, stealing a quick kiss.

 

“See? They all feel like I do,” Doc smiled. “Now, strip off your leathers, please? We’ll wash you down before we get ourselves.”

 

Lia smiled softly as she stood up. “Hmm? Want to be in control of me, do you?”

 

“To give you love tonight? Maybe a little.”

 

“Very well, Doc, my beloved husband. I can surrender to our family when asked.”

 

Rosa’s eyes blazed, and everyone looked at her, then laughed. Her smile only grew when she saw all their thoughts.