Chapter 27: The Man Without a Name

There was exactly one spare bed in the village of Reedhollow, and it was given to the Holy Champion, while Kai and his party were given a fishing shed.

It was cramped, it reeked of old fishing nets, and there was a hole in the roof big enough to see both moons through. An elderly woman dropped off a pot of fish stew and two thin blankets, stared at Kai’s pants for a long while, and then left in a hurry.

"She seemed disappointed," Mira said.

Garrick grabbed one of the blankets, curled up in it, and lay down against the wall. Elowen sat on the floor with her sword across her lap and said she never got cold, so she didn’t need a blanket. Kai was pretty sure that was a lie, but he wasn’t going to test it.

Dagna stood by the door, looking down the river.

"I’m going home," Dagna said, and everyone turned to look at her.

"Not to the city," Dagna said. "Home, to Millbrook. There’s a fishing boat tied up at the end of the dock, and the old man who owns it said I could use it as long as I bring it back." She turned to face Kai directly. "Tobin rang that bell until his hands bled for you. Someone needs to let them know it’s over and the barges aren’t coming."

"You don’t have to ask me," Kai said.

"I’m not asking," Dagna said. "I’m telling you, because you’re my god, and that’s how this works."

Kai didn’t have an answer for that, so he didn’t say anything.

[Faith update. Dagna Reeve: 41%. Status: Devoted.]

Dagna gave Mira a quick hug and smacked Garrick on the shoulder hard enough to half wake him up. Then she nodded to Elowen and walked over to Kai and poked him in the chest.

"Don’t die in the city," Dagna said. "Tam still owes you a drink."

"I’ll try," Kai said.

"Try harder than you usually do," Dagna said.

She grinned, turned, and ran out of the shed, and soon Kai heard the splash of her oars heading down the river.

Garrick was already snoring, and Elowen was doing whatever it was inquisitors did in the dark, which left Kai and Mira with one blanket lying on the floor between them.

Mira looked down at the blanket, and then up at Kai.

"No," Mira said.

"I didn’t say anything," Kai said.

"Your face did," Mira said.

Mira sighed, picked up the blanket, lay down on the floor, and held one side of it open for him.

"If you touch me, I will throw you in the river and drown you," Mira said.

"Got it," Kai said.

He lay down next to her on the cold floor, and the blanket wasn’t big enough to cover both of them unless they lay close together, so Mira’s back ended up pressed against his chest. Her silver hair was still wet and smelled like the river, and underneath that was a faint smell of smoke and rain, the same as when she had whispered in his ear on that auction stage.

[Your heart rate has increased by 40%]

"Not now," Kai whispered.

[Are you scared, horny, or humiliated?]

"Shut up," Kai whispered.

[I live inside your head. I cannot shut up]

"Who are you talking to?" Mira mumbled.

"No one," Kai said.

"Is it her?" Mira asked.

"Yes," Kai said.

"Is she asking about your heart rate?" Mira asked.

"Yes," Kai said, after a long moment of silence.

Mira didn’t respond, but Kai felt her shoulders shake a little as she tried to hold back a laugh.

They stayed like that for a while, and then Kai looked up through the hole in the roof at the two moons, one white and one green, and they almost looked like they were staring back at him.

"We could run," Mira said softly, and when Kai didn’t respond, she kept going.

"We could leave tonight," Mira said. "While he’s sleeping, we take Garrick and run into the forest. You’ve been climbing out of windows your whole life. This would be no different."

She had a point, and it was actually a pretty good plan, the kind Kai would have pulled back on Earth without thinking twice: run away, never look back, and start fresh in a new town with a new name. Then Kai looked over at Elowen sitting in the dark.

"Elowen can’t run," Kai said. "She left her post to come with me. If she runs now, she can never go back, and if I run and leave her here, she’ll have to explain everything on her own." He was quiet for a second. "And I told him I would go, in front of that sword. If I run, then I was lying to him."

"You lie a lot," Mira said.

"Yeah," Kai said. "But not to him. Not like that."

Mira was silent for a while, and then she shifted closer and settled her back against him.

"You’re a bad con artist," Mira whispered.

"I know," Kai said.

[Faith gained. Mira Vallen: +3%. Status: Worried.]

Mira fell asleep shortly after that, but Kai couldn’t. Once everyone else was asleep, he got up and snuck out of the shed.

It was cold outside, and the river was dark, with the two moons reflecting off the water. Kai walked down to the dock and sat on the edge with his feet hanging over the river. He wasn’t alone for long, because he heard footsteps on the boards behind him, and he didn’t have to turn around, because the whole dock was glowing with golden light.

The Holy Champion sat down next to him, and he wasn’t wearing his armor, just a plain white shirt and brown pants, and he looked more human without it, even if he was still glowing like a lantern.

"You cannot sleep either," the Holy Champion said, looking down at the water as his light reflected off of it. "You saw my hand on my sword tonight."

Every part of Kai’s body went on high alert.

"Yeah," Kai said. "I did."

"I want you to know why," the Holy Champion said. "When your light told you what would happen if you died, I felt it."

"You can feel her?" Kai asked, turning to look at him.

"Not her words," the Holy Champion said. "But I felt her reach out to me for a brief moment, as if she were trying to take hold of my hand." He looked down at his hands. "I have prayed every day since I was six years old. I have never lied. I have never had a drink, or a woman, or a single coin I did not work for. I have given everything to the Radiant Mother, and on the one night she promised me something in return, she gave it to a man who was climbing out of a bathroom window."

Kai didn’t know what to say to that, so he said nothing at all.

"For a moment tonight, I thought about it," the Holy Champion said. "All I would have had to do was use my sword one time, and she would be mine."

"What happened?" Kai asked.

"I remembered who I am," the Holy Champion said. "If I killed an honest man and took what I wanted from him, I would not be worthy of her, or of anything else." He turned to look at Kai. "I will not kill you, Kai Mercer. You have my word."

There was no sword to look at and no Elowen to tell him whether it was glowing, but after fifteen years of conning bankers, police officers, and landlords, Kai knew what a lie looked like, and this man was not lying to him.

"Okay," Kai said. "I believe you."

The Champion’s face relaxed a little.

"What’s your name?" Kai asked.

"I have no name," the Holy Champion said.

"Everyone has a name," Kai said.

"I gave my name to the Radiant Mother when I became her champion," the Holy Champion said. "We belong to her. We do not need names."

"That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard," Kai said.

"It is an honor," the Holy Champion said.

"It’s sad," Kai said. "I’m gonna call you Sunny."

"You cannot call me Sunny," the Holy Champion said, staring at him.

"Too late, Sunny," Kai said.

The Holy Champion opened his mouth and closed it again, and then the corner of his mouth lifted into a small smirk.

"You are a very interesting heretic," the Holy Champion said.

He stood up, and the dock creaked under his weight.

"Sleep, Kai Mercer," the Holy Champion said. "But I want to warn you. I am not the only one who can see what you carry. The High Priestess will see it the moment you walk into the Cathedral." He paused. "And she is not as forgiving as I am."

He walked up the hill towards the village, taking the golden light with him, and the dock went dark.

"Syraphim," Kai whispered. "Did you actually reach for him?"

Kai waited a long time for her to answer.

[I did not mean to. It was instinct. I am sorry]

"Don’t be sorry," Kai whispered. "He was meant for you. I understand."

[You do not understand. I did not want to go]

Kai didn’t know what to say to that, so he just let the warm little light in the back of his head be.

"What can the High Priestess do?" Kai whispered.

There was another long pause before she answered.

[She will be able to see me, which means she can remove me from you]

"What happens to me if she removes you?" Kai whispered, swallowing hard.

[You will no longer have a system, and you will not be able to gain faith. When your year is up, you will be erased from existence]

Kai looked past the dark trees towards the city, where the one building in the world that could erase him was waiting somewhere out there, and he was walking into it at sunrise.

"Awesome," Kai whispered. "That’s great for me."