Drake considered this heady revelation and Lydia’s reveal. “I guess it makes sense he’d hoard those potions. He didn’t care if any of you died, and all of you are powerful enough you wouldn’t need a burnish potion. But Dickcheese might need one, especially if his dire rat was a little bitch.” He winced even as he said that. “Sorry. Wasn’t thinking.”
Lydia and Valentia glanced at each other, then at him. “He was a rat and a wolf?”
So they didn’t use that word as an insult. Bullet dodged. “What I meant was, he was weak. Sure, I stabbed him like eighty times, but I don’t think he fought back after the first few. I don’t think he even finished shifting before I got done ganking his ass.”
Lydia considered. “Before I blacked out, I witnessed you shrug off multiple crossbow bolts and direct strikes from blades. And after you were abducted, you defeated twenty trained mercenaries and emerged without a scratch. So yes. His rat was weak by comparison.”
“This isn’t possible,” Valentia whispered. “A rarity that can absorb the rarities of others and then burnish them simply cannot be possible, can it?”
“I could not intercept all four bolts,” Lydia said quietly. “One struck Lord Gloomwood in the arm. I clearly remember seeing my blood on him, on his arm, and worrying about what would happen if our blood mixed while he carried me. If the blood pact became muddled.”
As Drake reflected on all that had happened since he first learned he could shift into a dire rat, his excitement faded. “But hold on. Mixing blood with people can’t be how I get their rarities, because that’s not what happened after I killed Captain Ro. I tore him apart.”
“But did you actually mix blood with him?” Valentia asked calmly.
“Val, I literally ate that dude’s heart. So why didn’t I get his rarity?”
“Perhaps your rarity only works if their blood mixes with your blood.”
“And eating people doesn’t count as mixing blood?”
“It might not. Your blood courses through your veins, not through your stomach.”
Drake watched her warily. “Do rarities really follow rules like that?”
She shrugged. “All rarities are different. Yet we’ve both seen how fast you heal as a dire rat, and in the tale you shared with me and Sachi, Ro put up very little fight. So while you certainly inflicted many wounds upon him, it is unlikely he inflicted any wounds upon you.”
“So there were no wounds for his blood to mix into.” Drake considered. “Huh. So... here’s a question, though. Our blood mixed during the battle in the courtyard, but I couldn’t flutterstep then. I didn’t start flutterstepping until later. Why the delay?”
“Perhaps it simply takes some time for you to adapt to a new rarity,” Valentia suggested.
She might be right. She also might be completely wrong, and all of them were speculating in the dark here. As endless possibilities swirled uselessly, Drake resisted the urge to thump a wall. Why couldn’t his new rarity have come with an instruction manual?
Still... now that he knew blood mixing was involved, he just needed more data. More tests. They could figure this out. He knew what he needed to know to figure it out now, the questions to ask and the experiments to conduct.
This was progress. Moreover, a rarity this useful might finally explain why Lord Dickcheese wanted him compelled by an obedience fetish. He might finally know why the old lord had gone to all the trouble to abduct him. Given all the traps Dickcheese had left for him, he had been a very calculating man. He just hadn’t calculated Drake could lie.
As Lydia attempted to sit up again, Valentia firmly pushed her back into the bed. “Do not get up. You cannot walk. You certainly cannot attempt to flutterstep.”
Lydia stared a moment and looked like she might put up a fight, but her exhaustion seemed to win out. “No,” she agreed quietly. “Not today. But... tomorrow. We must know.”
“So what do we do about tonight?” Drake asked.
Lydia watched him with tired eyes. “Tonight, lord?”
“I literally can’t take a step in my own manor without kissing a wall. You said it took you years to learn to use this ability. Is there any way I can learn it faster?”
“My rarity first manifested when I was six years old. It also grew stronger over time, which allowed me time to learn. If you now possess the ability to flutterstep, and it is burnished, I do not know how you could master it in a year, let alone a day. I have never had cause to compare my experience, but the best comparison would be walking on ice.”
“A feeling I know well,” Valentia grumbled. “Though mine isn’t as slippery as yours.” She looked past Drake. “If we wish to test this theory, there is a logical next step.”
“What?” Drake asked in unison with Lydia.
“Mix your blood with mine. If you obtain flashfreeze as well, we will know you can absorb the rarities of others.”
Drake grimaced as he mulled it over. “Not a good idea.”
“We can heal your wounds after,” Valentia assured him.
“That’s not what I’m worried about. If I can somehow absorb people’s rarities, we need to make sure I copy them instead of taking them. If it turns out I steal them instead, I could end up crippling you and Lydia.”
“You did not intend to cripple me,” Lydia said firmly.
“No, I didn’t, and if I took your rarity... I am sorry. But we can’t risk yours, Val.”
“No, we cannot,” Lydia agreed firmly. “For now, lord, simply stare at your feet. If you look directly at your feet and take small steps, you should not flutterstep. That is what I did for some time before I learned to control my rarity.”
That made sense. Drake could do that. “Thanks.”
Valentia cleared her throat. “I have another thought. Until we know more, you must also not induct any more blood thralls. Not until we know if blood mixing is involved.”
Drake realized the vulnerability their theory presented. “Oh, shit. That is going to a problem, isn’t it?” Mixing blood with someone would give them access to his blood pact... though, he supposed, they couldn’t actually do anything with it now.
“He did not lose his dire rat when you mixed blood with Jeremy,” Lydia reminded them. “That suggests he retains any rarities he absorb.”
“Or it suggests that because Jeremy had no rarity, our lord’s rarity did not trigger,” Valentia added calmly. “If his rarity is reactive, it responds to conditions rather than intent.”
Lydia winced. “Of course you’re right. I’m too exhausted to think.”
Her admitting that made Drake feel even more guilty. “You’ve told me enough to muddle on until you’re back on your feet. We’ll figure this out. Just rest now.”
Valentia turned to Drake. “It could take days for Lydia to heal. Is it wise to wait?”
“Do you have a better suggestion?”
“I do. I believe you should order Raylan to use a burnish potion to increase the rate at which he can heal Lydia. We will then know if her rarity is truly lost.”
“So how many of those potions do we have?”
“Five.” Lydia winced. “No, four.”
Drake considered all the counsel he’d been given and the options on the table. On the one hand, wasting a superpower potion on a hunch could be a bad play, especially if they were so rare. But on the other... every day he went without knowing precisely how his rarity worked was another day for his enemies to regroup and attack.
“You’re right,” Drake agreed. “We have to know how this all works. I can’t risk mixing my blood with anyone’s until we know I haven’t stolen your rarity, and until we know exactly how I absorb and supercharge it. Or as you say here, burnish it.”
“Tomorrow,” Lydia said firmly. “By tomorrow afternoon, if Raylan helps me regenerate with a burnished rarity, I will be ready to walk again.”
Valentia’s smile grew dark. “If our Lord Gloomwood can absorb the rarities of others, we will have a lord more powerful than any I have ever known. If it is possible for him to not only absorb our powers but also burnish them, even Lord Proudglade might soon meet his match.”
Drake grimaced at the mention of Westin’s father, the Lord of Proudglade Manor and, also, apparently his hated foe. “I haven’t looked him up yet. What can that lord do?”
“Shock spear, lord,” Lydia said. “It is the most powerful known combat rarity possessed by any man in this realm, which is part of why Lord Proudglade has been able to attract so many followers. He can summon bolts of lightning from the air and toss them like spears. If they hit you, you will simply disintegrate. He can even bring down walls.”
“Goddammit,” Drake said vengefully. “So in addition to all my other problems, I’m dealing with an enemy lord who’s basically motherfucking Zeus.”
Valentia’s smile faded. “Is that a powerful lord in your world?”
“My world has lords, but they don’t have superpowers.” Drake breathed. “Which is good, because we wouldn’t even need nukes to kill each other.”
Again both battle maids stared at him blankly. As much as he trusted and respected his people here, it was lonely to know they shared no frame of reference. Their world remained as alien to him as his was to them... which is why they hadn’t warned him about silver bolts.
“Either way, we’ve done all we can for tonight,” Drake added. “I’m not going to learn to flutterstep in one night, and I’m not about to risk losing Val’s rarity as well. We also need Lydia back at full strength as soon as possible, both in her role as steward of this manor and as my battle maid. Even if she can’t flutterstep any longer, she’s indispensable.”
“Then we should also attempt to maximize our expenses,” Valentia said. “The effects of a burnish potion last only a short time, but it should be long enough for Raylan to tend to both Lydia and Emily. If we are going to use a potion, we should attend to everyone.”
“That’s good news,” Drake agreed. “We need Emily back on her feet as well. No reason not to milk Raylan’s rarity for everything it’s worth.” He paused. “In fact, we should check on Samuel as well. Depending on how much he’s regenerated, it’s possible Raylan could use his rarity on him as well. Samuel is stable now, right?”
“That will be up to Raylan,” Valentia said. “He knows his limits.”
Lydia frowned. “Did you just suggest we... milk him, lord?”
Drake sighed at another belief disparity. “It’s just an expression.”
A truly intrigued expression overtook Valentia’s features. “But Raylan is not a cow.”
“I know that.”
“Do men lactate in your world?”
“No!” Drake rubbed his face. “I mean, I don’t think so? Maybe sometimes? I don’t know, and your statement was better. Once Raylan is burnished he should heal everyone, even Samuel if possible, assuming that rarity cancellation problem isn’t a thing.”
“Of course,” Valentia said smoothly. Yet she was wearing that small smile again.
Drake’s head was starting to hurt, and not just because he’d slammed it into a door, a wall, and a post. “All right, so... I think we’re done here. You and Nicole can escort me back to my room. I’ll sleep this off.”
“And what of tomorrow’s interviews?” Valentia asked. “We must take action soon. We cannot risk another fetish-controlled thrall wreaking havoc.”
“Wake me at first light. We’ll pick a sitting room where I can clear people one by one, and they can come to me. So long as I’m sitting in a chair and don’t try to get out of it, I shouldn’t flutterstep. We’ve already verified I don’t do it if I don’t walk.”
“That is a fine plan,” Valentia agreed. “There is also plenty of gauze in this infirmary. If you like, we could use some for a blindfold?”
“I don’t think we need to get that complicated. I’ll just look at my feet until I’m back within sight of my own bed.” And hopefully, he wouldn’t wake up tomorrow morning and slam into his dresser before he remembered he could now teleport by walking.
“Then we should leave now,” Valentia said. “Lydia needs her rest.”
Drake glanced down at Lydia once more to find her still resolutely staring up at him, valiantly struggling to stay awake. So brave. How could he show her how much he appreciated her loyalty?
“Hey,” he said softly. “We’ve got this. The manor, our people, all that. So you just rest a little, all right? Let us carry this weight for a little while.”
She nodded. She closed her eyes. She was asleep again in moments.
Drake looked up at Valentia and kept his voice low. “Would you mind guiding me back like you did into here? I don’t want to hold hands with Nicole again.”
“She is awfully warm,” Valentia agreed.
Drake considered this heady revelation and Lydia’s reveal. “I guess it makes sense he’d hoard those potions. He didn’t care if any of you died, and all of you are powerful enough you wouldn’t need a burnish potion. But Dickcheese might need one, especially if his dire rat was a little bitch.” He winced even as he said that. “Sorry. Wasn’t thinking.”
Lydia and Valentia glanced at each other, then at him. “He was a rat and a wolf?”
So they didn’t use that word as an insult. Bullet dodged. “What I meant was, he was weak. Sure, I stabbed him like eighty times, but I don’t think he fought back after the first few. I don’t think he even finished shifting before I got done ganking his ass.”
Lydia considered. “Before I blacked out, I witnessed you shrug off multiple crossbow bolts and direct strikes from blades. And after you were abducted, you defeated twenty trained mercenaries and emerged without a scratch. So yes. His rat was weak by comparison.”
“This isn’t possible,” Valentia whispered. “A rarity that can absorb the rarities of others and then burnish them simply cannot be possible, can it?”
“I could not intercept all four bolts,” Lydia said quietly. “One struck Lord Gloomwood in the arm. I clearly remember seeing my blood on him, on his arm, and worrying about what would happen if our blood mixed while he carried me. If the blood pact became muddled.”
As Drake reflected on all that had happened since he first learned he could shift into a dire rat, his excitement faded. “But hold on. Mixing blood with people can’t be how I get their rarities, because that’s not what happened after I killed Captain Ro. I tore him apart.”
“But did you actually mix blood with him?” Valentia asked calmly.
“Val, I literally ate that dude’s heart. So why didn’t I get his rarity?”
“Perhaps your rarity only works if their blood mixes with your blood.”
“And eating people doesn’t count as mixing blood?”
“It might not. Your blood courses through your veins, not through your stomach.”
Drake watched her warily. “Do rarities really follow rules like that?”
She shrugged. “All rarities are different. Yet we’ve both seen how fast you heal as a dire rat, and in the tale you shared with me and Sachi, Ro put up very little fight. So while you certainly inflicted many wounds upon him, it is unlikely he inflicted any wounds upon you.”
“So there were no wounds for his blood to mix into.” Drake considered. “Huh. So... here’s a question, though. Our blood mixed during the battle in the courtyard, but I couldn’t flutterstep then. I didn’t start flutterstepping until later. Why the delay?”
“Perhaps it simply takes some time for you to adapt to a new rarity,” Valentia suggested.
She might be right. She also might be completely wrong, and all of them were speculating in the dark here. As endless possibilities swirled uselessly, Drake resisted the urge to thump a wall. Why couldn’t his new rarity have come with an instruction manual?
Still... now that he knew blood mixing was involved, he just needed more data. More tests. They could figure this out. He knew what he needed to know to figure it out now, the questions to ask and the experiments to conduct.
This was progress. Moreover, a rarity this useful might finally explain why Lord Dickcheese wanted him compelled by an obedience fetish. He might finally know why the old lord had gone to all the trouble to abduct him. Given all the traps Dickcheese had left for him, he had been a very calculating man. He just hadn’t calculated Drake could lie.
As Lydia attempted to sit up again, Valentia firmly pushed her back into the bed. “Do not get up. You cannot walk. You certainly cannot attempt to flutterstep.”
Lydia stared a moment and looked like she might put up a fight, but her exhaustion seemed to win out. “No,” she agreed quietly. “Not today. But... tomorrow. We must know.”
“So what do we do about tonight?” Drake asked.
Lydia watched him with tired eyes. “Tonight, lord?”
“I literally can’t take a step in my own manor without kissing a wall. You said it took you years to learn to use this ability. Is there any way I can learn it faster?”
“My rarity first manifested when I was six years old. It also grew stronger over time, which allowed me time to learn. If you now possess the ability to flutterstep, and it is burnished, I do not know how you could master it in a year, let alone a day. I have never had cause to compare my experience, but the best comparison would be walking on ice.”
“A feeling I know well,” Valentia grumbled. “Though mine isn’t as slippery as yours.” She looked past Drake. “If we wish to test this theory, there is a logical next step.”
“What?” Drake asked in unison with Lydia.
“Mix your blood with mine. If you obtain flashfreeze as well, we will know you can absorb the rarities of others.”
Drake grimaced as he mulled it over. “Not a good idea.”
“We can heal your wounds after,” Valentia assured him.
“That’s not what I’m worried about. If I can somehow absorb people’s rarities, we need to make sure I copy them instead of taking them. If it turns out I steal them instead, I could end up crippling you and Lydia.”
“You did not intend to cripple me,” Lydia said firmly.
“No, I didn’t, and if I took your rarity... I am sorry. But we can’t risk yours, Val.”
“No, we cannot,” Lydia agreed firmly. “For now, lord, simply stare at your feet. If you look directly at your feet and take small steps, you should not flutterstep. That is what I did for some time before I learned to control my rarity.”
That made sense. Drake could do that. “Thanks.”
Valentia cleared her throat. “I have another thought. Until we know more, you must also not induct any more blood thralls. Not until we know if blood mixing is involved.”
Drake realized the vulnerability their theory presented. “Oh, shit. That is going to a problem, isn’t it?” Mixing blood with someone would give them access to his blood pact... though, he supposed, they couldn’t actually do anything with it now.
“He did not lose his dire rat when you mixed blood with Jeremy,” Lydia reminded them. “That suggests he retains any rarities he absorb.”
“Or it suggests that because Jeremy had no rarity, our lord’s rarity did not trigger,” Valentia added calmly. “If his rarity is reactive, it responds to conditions rather than intent.”
Lydia winced. “Of course you’re right. I’m too exhausted to think.”
Her admitting that made Drake feel even more guilty. “You’ve told me enough to muddle on until you’re back on your feet. We’ll figure this out. Just rest now.”
Valentia turned to Drake. “It could take days for Lydia to heal. Is it wise to wait?”
“Do you have a better suggestion?”
“I do. I believe you should order Raylan to use a burnish potion to increase the rate at which he can heal Lydia. We will then know if her rarity is truly lost.”
“So how many of those potions do we have?”
“Five.” Lydia winced. “No, four.”
Drake considered all the counsel he’d been given and the options on the table. On the one hand, wasting a superpower potion on a hunch could be a bad play, especially if they were so rare. But on the other... every day he went without knowing precisely how his rarity worked was another day for his enemies to regroup and attack.
“You’re right,” Drake agreed. “We have to know how this all works. I can’t risk mixing my blood with anyone’s until we know I haven’t stolen your rarity, and until we know exactly how I absorb and supercharge it. Or as you say here, burnish it.”
“Tomorrow,” Lydia said firmly. “By tomorrow afternoon, if Raylan helps me regenerate with a burnished rarity, I will be ready to walk again.”
Valentia’s smile grew dark. “If our Lord Gloomwood can absorb the rarities of others, we will have a lord more powerful than any I have ever known. If it is possible for him to not only absorb our powers but also burnish them, even Lord Proudglade might soon meet his match.”
Drake grimaced at the mention of Westin’s father, the Lord of Proudglade Manor and, also, apparently his hated foe. “I haven’t looked him up yet. What can that lord do?”
“Shock spear, lord,” Lydia said. “It is the most powerful known combat rarity possessed by any man in this realm, which is part of why Lord Proudglade has been able to attract so many followers. He can summon bolts of lightning from the air and toss them like spears. If they hit you, you will simply disintegrate. He can even bring down walls.”
“Goddammit,” Drake said vengefully. “So in addition to all my other problems, I’m dealing with an enemy lord who’s basically motherfucking Zeus.”
Valentia’s smile faded. “Is that a powerful lord in your world?”
“My world has lords, but they don’t have superpowers.” Drake breathed. “Which is good, because we wouldn’t even need nukes to kill each other.”
Again both battle maids stared at him blankly. As much as he trusted and respected his people here, it was lonely to know they shared no frame of reference. Their world remained as alien to him as his was to them... which is why they hadn’t warned him about silver bolts.
“Either way, we’ve done all we can for tonight,” Drake added. “I’m not going to learn to flutterstep in one night, and I’m not about to risk losing Val’s rarity as well. We also need Lydia back at full strength as soon as possible, both in her role as steward of this manor and as my battle maid. Even if she can’t flutterstep any longer, she’s indispensable.”
“Then we should also attempt to maximize our expenses,” Valentia said. “The effects of a burnish potion last only a short time, but it should be long enough for Raylan to tend to both Lydia and Emily. If we are going to use a potion, we should attend to everyone.”
“That’s good news,” Drake agreed. “We need Emily back on her feet as well. No reason not to milk Raylan’s rarity for everything it’s worth.” He paused. “In fact, we should check on Samuel as well. Depending on how much he’s regenerated, it’s possible Raylan could use his rarity on him as well. Samuel is stable now, right?”
“That will be up to Raylan,” Valentia said. “He knows his limits.”
Lydia frowned. “Did you just suggest we... milk him, lord?”
Drake sighed at another belief disparity. “It’s just an expression.”
A truly intrigued expression overtook Valentia’s features. “But Raylan is not a cow.”
“I know that.”
“Do men lactate in your world?”
“No!” Drake rubbed his face. “I mean, I don’t think so? Maybe sometimes? I don’t know, and your statement was better. Once Raylan is burnished he should heal everyone, even Samuel if possible, assuming that rarity cancellation problem isn’t a thing.”
“Of course,” Valentia said smoothly. Yet she was wearing that small smile again.
Drake’s head was starting to hurt, and not just because he’d slammed it into a door, a wall, and a post. “All right, so... I think we’re done here. You and Nicole can escort me back to my room. I’ll sleep this off.”
“And what of tomorrow’s interviews?” Valentia asked. “We must take action soon. We cannot risk another fetish-controlled thrall wreaking havoc.”
“Wake me at first light. We’ll pick a sitting room where I can clear people one by one, and they can come to me. So long as I’m sitting in a chair and don’t try to get out of it, I shouldn’t flutterstep. We’ve already verified I don’t do it if I don’t walk.”
“That is a fine plan,” Valentia agreed. “There is also plenty of gauze in this infirmary. If you like, we could use some for a blindfold?”
“I don’t think we need to get that complicated. I’ll just look at my feet until I’m back within sight of my own bed.” And hopefully, he wouldn’t wake up tomorrow morning and slam into his dresser before he remembered he could now teleport by walking.
“Then we should leave now,” Valentia said. “Lydia needs her rest.”
Drake glanced down at Lydia once more to find her still resolutely staring up at him, valiantly struggling to stay awake. So brave. How could he show her how much he appreciated her loyalty?
“Hey,” he said softly. “We’ve got this. The manor, our people, all that. So you just rest a little, all right? Let us carry this weight for a little while.”
She nodded. She closed her eyes. She was asleep again in moments.
Drake looked up at Valentia and kept his voice low. “Would you mind guiding me back like you did into here? I don’t want to hold hands with Nicole again.”
“She is awfully warm,” Valentia agreed.
