Bloodflowers Bloom (The Astral Wanderer Book 2), D'Artagnan Rey [essential reading .txt] 📗

the order than most, but there are still those around who are…spiteful.” He looked a little worried and like he hoped he did not offend.

Wulfsun gave him an easy smile and a nod. “Don’t worry, lad, I know the score. But I appreciate the concern.”

“Come on, Wulfsun!” Devol shouted over the noise of the crowd.

“I’m coming!” he responded and nodded at the guard captain. “And don’t worry about the boy. I’ve seen what he can do and who he is,” he stated with confidence. “And between you and me, he may be one who helps to restore the order to a place of respect all over the realms.”

Chapter Fourteen

Devol’s home was rather quaint. It stood a couple of stories high on the outskirts of the city center. An effusion of flowers and simple paintings decorated the entrance and complemented the white, red, and pink cobblestone structure that had large windows on both floors. The aroma of something laced with honey cooking permeated the home and made the group all realize they were suddenly surprisingly hungry despite eating breakfast little more than an hour before.

The young swordsman walked up to the red front door and knocked loudly. “Mother!” he shouted and knocked again. “Mother, Father—are you home?”

“Well, if they were sleeping they aren’t now,” Jazai muttered. He paused to examine one of the paintings of a cat sleeping under starlight. Asla studied it with him over his shoulder.

“Devol?” A calm voice answered and caught the attention of the group. “Devol!” The voice grew more excited and footsteps ran to the entrance. The door was thrown open and a woman in a light blue dress stood in the aperture, relief and adoration on her face. “It is you.”

“It is indeed,” the boy replied cheerfully as they embraced. The spontaneous and genuine affection warmed the hearts of his companions. When they separated, he pointed to his team. “Mother, I would like to introduce you to some of the friends I’ve made in the Templars. This is Jazai, a scholar.”

The diviner stepped forward and bowed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

“This is my friend Asla. She’s one of the fastest magi I’ve ever seen,” he announced and Asla’s ear twitched as she also bowed to her.

“It is nice to meet you. I hope we aren’t intruding.”

“Oh, not at all!” Devol’s mom assured her and extended a hand to the young wildkin so she would raise her head. “You are so adorable. Please feel welcome.”

“Thank you kindly,” Asla said and a small blush tinted her cheeks.

“And this”—Devol pointed to Wulfsun with a flourish—“is the man who has been helping me train, Captain Wulfsun.”

“A captain! It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Lilli Alouest.” She beamed and bowed to the elder Templar. “My husband is also a captain of the guard here in Monleans.”

“So I’ve heard. Your son has told us all about you,” Wulfsun replied. “I’m sorry to drop in like this, but we’re on a mission that takes us through the city and we wanted to give Devol an opportunity to come and see you.”

“Of course! It’s no trouble. I am baking for the week so there’s more than enough food to go around. Come on in.” The group followed her inside. The floors were a warm brown wood and she ushered them to a large rectangular table, where each took a seat. “Victor, come down! We have company,” she called up the stairs before she walked to the kitchen.

“We do? Who has come?” a strong voice asked as footsteps descended the stairs. Devol’s father entered the room in a white shirt and black trousers. His head was shaved clean but he had a large brown beard and thick eyebrows. His green gaze darted to the table and settled on the young swordsman, who waved at him with a smile.

Victor returned the smile, walked closer, and clasped the boy’s hand to pull him into a hug. “It’s good to see you, son.” He ended the embrace as he looked at the others. “Are these all your Templar friends?”

“A few. I have more back at the order,” the boy told him and pointed at each one as he ran through the list. “Asla, Jazai, and Captain Wulfsun. That’s the abridged version. I’ve introduced them three times now.”

“Three?” his father inquired as his mother entered with a basket of honey-drizzled bread and an assortment of cheeses.

“We ran into Castiel in the market,” Devol explained as he broke one long loaf and passed it to the others. “We’re on a mission but I wanted to come and see you before we continue to Levirei.”

“A mission?” Victor asked as walked to a cabinet, selected a bottle of wine, and took a jug of fruit juice out of the cooling box. He placed these on the table, passed cups around, and uncorked the bottle before he offered some to Wulfsun, who accepted with an enthusiastic nod. Devol poured juice for Asla, Jazai, and himself.

“Yeah. We’re going to look into some disturbances in the area. It won’t be a problem,” he added reassuringly. Jazai noted that he seemed to skirt around the issue rather tactfully. “Hey, since I’m here, let me tell you more details of what we’ve been doing together for the last few months.”

The young swordsman began to tell his parents selected stories of his time in the order—the training, meeting new realmers, and snippets of missions and quests that wouldn’t alarm them too much. His companions began to feel more comfortable and added their recollections and tales. The table was now full of honeyed bread, fruits, cheeses, and slices of thin meats and they spent a couple of hours simply talking and getting to know one another.

Jazai delighted in telling odd stories and amusing mishaps in the Templar Order hall while Victor regaled them with similarly silly stories from the guardsmen. Lilli and Asla spoke of the mana arts and Asla told tales of wildkin lore and her people’s history. Wulfsun and Victor shared