Shadow Honor - Book 1 of The Trial

Shadow Honor - 13

Sleep escaped Maxthane. The last two days had been a crazy ride of emotions, and he couldn't stop thinking about what he had been through. He sat up straight in his bed as he realized that it had been going on for longer than that. He had been troubled since they had freed the demon. What Styx had done was bring him to an understanding of what was bothering him.

Styx; there was another subject he couldn't stop thinking about. He glanced toward his window, wondering what had become of the boy he loved. It had been nearly a full day since he had let Styx go, and Maxthane was sure that his father would have told him something by now if Styx had been caught or killed. No, he would have known. He would have felt it if Styx were dead. Even though he didn't understand the connection they had, he was certain he would know if that event occurred.

There was a small possibility that his father wouldn't have told him. Salidar had left in anger when they had last spoken, and, though there was no way to be sure without approaching him, Maxthane would not be surprised if his father was still angry with him, but he had to know what his father knew about Styx. He slid out of his bed and dressed, wrapping his dhoti around his waist and stepping into his worn leather boots.

He had always preferred to keep his style of dress simple to allow him easier access to his tattoos. Tattoo magic required a certain level of focus to activate, and users typically did so through a habitual action that helped them reach that focus. The action was usually something like touching the tattoo as he had seen Styx do, and Maxthane activated his own the same way. The loose clothing he wore allowed him to reach the tattoos on his legs easily.

Some of the other tattoos he had were always active, such as the ones on his back. Blood pacts such as the link he had established with the demon, were one of several types of passive tattoos. These granted their powers at all times but were far more complex to enchant and incurred a great deal more risk as well. Maxthane grimaced as he remembered the story he had heard of the man who had used fish blood in his tattoo to grant him the ability to breathe underwater. Even though it worked for a short time, the human body was never meant to behave in that way, and eventually he was found belly up in the water, bloated, his body unable to handle the stress.

Despite the risks, Maxthane had never had any reservations about inking his body with magic. He hadn't even been worried about the blood pact itself when they had freed the demon. His reservations had been of a far different sort; what they were doing was wrong, and he had known it since the beginning. It was time to face that and do something about it.

He sighed as he turned toward the door of his bedroom. He had to face his father and explain his position. Maybe Salidar could be convinced that this was a bad idea, or maybe not, but he owed it to Styx and himself to try, not to mention the gladiators who had died facing the demon. While he had never been fond of the arena, he had also never thought of it from the perspective of the gladiators before. Styx had changed that. He didn't feel guilty, but he did feel indirectly responsible for their deaths.

After leaving his chambers he made his way toward his father's rooms. Before he had gone half the distance, he felt a tug on his blood pact with the demon. It was getting excited about something, though the pact wasn't strong enough to allow him to know much more.

Suspicious of what that excitement could mean, Maxthane changed his direction and headed toward the arena. He quickened his pace as he came closer to the pit, the sound of cheering giving him a sense of urgency. There was a fight about to happen. Salidar hadn't told him, probably because he knew how Maxthane would react.

When Maxthane reached the viewing area he made his way through the crowd of spectators toward Salidar's usual spot. Each spectator grunted as he pushed past, but once they recognized him they kept their mouths shut and let him pass. It wasn't long before he stood behind his father, who was looking down at the pit with a thoughtful expression. Before Maxthane interrupted his father he followed Salidar's gaze down to the arena floor. Standing near the gladiator entrance was a single man; the Fedain who had helped save Styx's life.