Moral Stand (Aether’s Revival Book 7)

Gregory watched the futures spin out— his men ran into a myriad of troubles unless they stayed at the barracks or went out as a four-squad block. At least one squad had to stay back, or else the barracks would get raided. He’d also have to restrict the sisters from going out, as they would be harassed in very unpleasant ways if they did. Shelby Dalt had decided to spend his money to get petty revenge against Gregory’s unit; Icelake was rapidly becoming an unwelcoming place for his men.

The future that had him the most concerned was his meeting with Justina. All of them had them argue, and nearly all brought them into conflict. The majority of those ended with Gregory killing the magus, as she wouldn’t relent once she began. Even in the ones where blood wasn’t drawn, she had to be firmly handled to prove that she shouldn’t press him. He was sure that it would make things worse in the future, but he had a slim chance to once again push off the inevitable conflict.

“Is that really the best path…?” Gregory murmured, having his resonance show him the best future for him again. “Is it just the best future for today, or for my continued life…? I could use some guidance, Elder.”

His soft words sparked another memory, and Gregory let go of his magic to focus on his ring. There was something related to this he’d read last year. Pushing the idea into his ring, he tried to force the page to appear. A few loose pages appeared in his lap. He scanned the different papers until he found the one that he’d been thinking about.

“When you come to the point of conflict in the north, Gregory, you will have to choose when the right time is. The most probable future has you pushing off conflicts with the magi until you can’t any longer. While this mitigates the length of time you personally have to deal with problems, it opens up bigger issues for others later. That is all I can advise, but it will be your choice.”

Gregory set the paper down. Lightshield’s voice had filled his mind as he’d read the words; there was no hint of who would be impacted or just how terrible it would be. Gregory started to understand a little more of how foresight could paralyze his decision-making. Taking a deep breath, he absorbed the pages back into his ring, then let meditation envelop him.

The cavern came to him, his flame burning merrily in the middle of the empty space. Today was a day for letting Magi Squares of aether flame take his time. The complex grid he’d gotten used to formed, and he stood in front of it. Taking the first stance of the Peaceful Fist, he let the katas flow while he mentally solved the puzzle.

~*~*~

Breakfast was beginning to wrap up when Gregory stood up to speak, “Men, I have to request something unusual from you. I need one squad to stay here to keep the place safe and secure while the rest of you only go out as a single block. Doing anything else opens up many problems that we should avoid, especially today. It’ll likely have to continue this way for the rest of the year. Since that’s the case, the sergeants will be rotating which squad stays behind so it’ll be evenly divided among you. Donald’s squad, you drew the home straw today.”

The men seated with Donald didn’t complain. They nodded as they continued to eat their food.

“I’ve already spoken to our helpers, and they’ll also be staying in. If they ask the outgoing group to shop for them, I request you to do it. It’ll be even worse for them if they’re caught alone.”

That had a few mutters about hurting people who tried it.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but we need to walk a thin line for the rest of this year. Today will put the town magus against us. I’ll mitigate it some, but we’ll not be welcome in Icelake by her. The guards will become frosty to us, as well, so keep that in mind while you’re out. We have no friends here, except for those who’ve proven themselves: the Blocks, who own the Cutting Block, and Lowen Pointer, the owner of Groomed Mane. Outside of them, be wary. The rumors of us freeing slaves is quickly spreading thanks to the slavers we’ve stopped before, and those rumors are being backed by the Chainer family. Before we leave this posting, even the common citizen will give us grief. We’ll weather this storm because we have each other to lean on. Thank you.”

The men stood to salute him, and Gregory smiled as he returned it.

“Sir,” Davis asked as the men took their seats again, “can we assist you today?”

“No, Lieutenant. Today won’t devolve far enough to end in bloodshed. While it’ll end with her being upset with me, I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, before I go, the Peaceful Fist in the yard,” Gregory said. “I’ll see you all out there.”

~*~*~

Gregory set his report on the table before he accepted the tea from the maid. It saved time if it was already there for Justina to read. Giving the maid a smile, he pulled his resonance around himself tightly. He wouldn’t let there be bloodshed today, but he wouldn’t back down from his stance on the slave laws, either. He knew he’d be waiting for a while, so he meditated to pass the time.

It was about an hour later when Justina arrived. Throwing the doors open, she stalked over to her chair, looking at the maid with cold eyes. “Leave. No one is to come until I call.”

The maid quickly curtsied and fled the room.

Justina let her displeasure fall on Gregory, her aether pressing down on him. “Let us speak on your actions. I specifically told you that if you did it again, I would be displeased.”

“You did,” Gregory said calmly, her attempt to pressure him sliding off his resonance. “Did you want some tea? I can pour for you.”

Justina’s brow furrowed at how calm he was. She knew she was pressuring him, but he spoke clearly and wasn’t showing any discomfort. With her teeth gritted, she redoubled her effort to make him feel her anger.

Gregory stood, going to the tea trolley and bringing it over. “If I recall, you prefer cream and sugar, correct?”

Fear started to creep into her heart. No adept should be able to ignore her displeasure the way he was. How was it possible for him to manage it? “Uh… yes,” she said slowly, wondering if he had an enchanted item to help him.

“Wonderful.” Gregory prepared her cup, then refilled his before taking his seat again.

Buying time as she continued to try and pressure him, Justina sipped from her cup slowly.

“I would apologize for angering you, Magus, but again, I’m only upholding the laws. My report is there if you’d care to read it.”

An adept should break from the strain of being calm, so Justina took the option to let his resistance wane under her greater aether. Picking up the scroll, she began to read. She took her time, not skimming or skipping at all. When she finished, she set the report down only to find Gregory faintly smiling.

“I see…” Justina said, trying to extend even greater pressure onto him. “You yet again let captured eurtiks go after arresting the men involved, one of whom died to the bane wolf pack.”

“That is correct,” Gregory said as he got ready to return her attempts. “Magus, this doesn’t need to end badly. All I ask you to do is let me uphold the laws. That’s all.”

“You’re killing the economy in Icelake!” Justina snapped.

“Maybe the town should diversify,” Gregory said calmly, using his resonance to push back. “One day, there might be peace between the north and the empire. The towns would crumple. It would be remembered if a magi thought ahead and started to give other options for everyone here to thrive.”

Justina blinked in shock at him. He was born a fringer, yet spoke eloquently and thoughtfully on economics. That wasn’t what caused her to boggle. No, that came from the feeling of her aether being slowly pushed back.

“I know the Chainer family is angry and that the men whom I’ve put out of work are trying to cause trouble for me. I hope you see that siding with them over me is… shortsighted. I’d much rather have a relationship where you support me, Magus. We don’t have to be friends if you want to keep Chainer pacified, but I would like to not be outright antagonistic to each other.”

“What? How are you doing this? You’re a lowly adept! Your medallion should be orange, maybe barely green! How are you resisting my displeasure?!” Justina’s forehead began to bead with sweat.

“I follow the Peaceful Fist, a combination of body and spirit paths. What you feel is what the spirit path can do. I’m content to just stop you from trying to force me to bend, Magus, but if need be, I can go further.”

Justina swallowed as the pressure she’d been exuding wrapped around her, feeling like a giant’s hand slowly squeezing her. “Stop this! Stop it right now!”

“Retract your pressure and it will stop,” Gregory said calmly. “I’m merely containing your energy. It’s just the space it’s in is growing smaller that makes it feel like that.”

She pulled back her anger, and the moment she did, the pressure vanished. “You would dare force me to—!”

“No,” Gregory said firmly, his resonance now tightening on her. “I didn’t force you to do anything. Saying otherwise is a lie, Magus.”

Justina gasped; the pressure she was feeling now was much worse than before. It was like she was standing in front of the master who’d led her clan in the academy. No adept should be able to exude the same amount of pressure. “You…?”

Gregory let his resonance pull back from her. “You only respect strength, Magus. I had to show it to you for you to believe me. Now, you have many choices in front of you, ranging from allying with me to attacking me outright. I’d suggest you let me uphold the laws and placate Chainer. My men will comport themselves even while the people who I’ve angered try to drag us into conflict.”

Justina stared at Gregory before a small, ugly smirk touched her lips. “Very well. I will not interfere with your upholding the laws. I’m sure the commander will be just as eager to make sure the laws are upheld in town, since you are giving us such a sterling example to follow.”

“I’d be glad if he did,” Gregory said.

“Your report will be filed. You may go.” Justina dismissed him with a bite of anger to her tone. She waited for him to almost reach the door before she added, “Pettit, you’ve angered the wrong family. They’ll not be as pleasant as me.”

Gregory turned back to face her, his face calm. “Magus, if they push me, I will resist. You have an idea of what that means. If you wish to continue to work with them after I leave, I’d suggest you warn them off. If not… well, opposing a magi has only one sentence in the empire.” He walked out before she could reply to his bold declaration.

The butler jerked slightly when he saw Gregory coming toward the front door, but he bowed and escorted the magi out. He’d never seen anyone who’d displeased the magus walk out as calmly as Gregory just had. When the door shut behind him, he hurried to check on his owner.