Chapter Eighteen

The Devil, The Hanged Man and the Queen

She had little thirst for her drink, and sipped at it sparingly. Cana decided her hesitance must have been due to the travel and how badly she had reacted to the traditional Yikani alcohol she had consumed not even two nights prior. There wasn't an inn located within the village, but there was a small shop that remained open throughout the night for travellers waiting to enter the city. Bacchus had found it and did not hesitate to enter.

He was sitting beside her at the small table and unlike her, his thirst had grown noticeably and exponentially as he was already finishing off his sixth drink. It wasn't hard to miss how nervous he'd become once they entered the village. His little ticks had become more frequent and his step less confident as he walked beside her rather than in front. It only made her feel worse to think of how little help she must have been to have picked a fight with him and practically forced him to come find her rather than having the time to carefully plan their entry to the palace. He really is afraid, isn't he? She watched his hand hold tight to the cup and noticed how he already swayed where he sat. It wasn't like the first few times they had drank together. There was no joy in his face as he sipped frequently at the drink in his hand.

"I think you've had enough tonight, husband." She put her drink down, mindfully placing it out of his reach.

"This is the last one." It was clear to her how much of an effort it was taking for him to keep steady. His fingers tapped rapidly on the table and at the sight of a waiting girl, he raised his cup to her to signify his want for another. Last one, huh?

The young woman came to serve him his next drink, her eyes glancing him up and down. Either he didn't notice, or he didn't care. Whichever it was, Cana noticed and cleared her throat, getting the server's attention. When the woman noticed the way Cana looked at her, she hurried off to clean an empty table, glancing back at her every so often.

"That woman has been staring at you." She pointed out to him. In his stupor, he squinted his eyes at her then turning his head to see where she was looking. A chuckle escaped him then as he returned his look at her.

"This again?" He whispered in her ear, leaning in close. His voice was rough, indicating his intoxication furthered into a dangerous level.

"Bite me." She wanted to hit him when she saw the mischievous smile on his face.

"Only if you're into that." Bacchus went back to his drink, the smile disappearing as quickly as it had come.

"Ahn, be serious." Cana urged, but he finished his seventh serving anyway.

There weren't many other guests sitting in the shop; A couple of older men sitting by the fire, a single man across from them, another with his arm around a woman by the corner. All of which did little in keeping any attention drawn to them. Bacchus' continuous orders were just as helpful.

"Look, I know you're a little on edge right now, but we need to figure out a plan here." She whispered to him.

"Let me know if you have any bright ideas." He tossed his head back to swallow the last few contents of his eighth drink.

We don't know what's out there, but there is a way of finding out. Hesitantly, she reached into her bag, pulling out her deck and tried to cut and shuffle quietly. Her companion noticed, his posture sinking and the drunken look on his face falling into a less than pleased expression.

"What are you doing?" He had his eyes focused on her cards.

"Ask a question." She shuffled them as she waited.

"What?" His brows furrowed as he watched her.

"Ask a question." She repeated, still cutting and sliding the cards.

It took him a moment to formulate his words, but she kept her hands moving until he finally asked.

"What waits for us ahead?" He didn't look at her as he spoke. Instead his focus was on his hands resting on the table, which were holding tightly to the cup he'd been drinking from.

She stopped shuffling and drew out the four cards, laying them side-by-side and face down on the table. Cana knew he never enjoyed the process of getting a reading nor what they've had to say thus far, but they had no other option to help guide them. Thanks to me. Her thought let the guilt from before sink heavier into her gut.

"This is indicative of your past." Her lip twitched as she flipped over the first one. He snorted at the image, putting his empty cup in the air once more. Cana was just as displeased as he was.

"So what does it mean?" He asked her as the same woman from before came to refill his drink.

"The Devil isn't necessarily an ominous card." She started. "It often means that you've had other people making decisions for you instead of coming to your own conclusions."

"That's no surprise." He gratefully thanked the serving woman as she poured for him. "Next one."

She rolled her eyes and turned over the second card. Bacchus' hand held tighter to his drink when he saw it.

"The Hanged Man, reversed." Cana sighed, knowing that despite the meaning of the card, it wasn't looking like a very uplifting reading. "This is the card representing your present state. It is telling you to be aware of and discontinue a relationship, attitude or situation so that you can let them go and move on. This is a card of sacrifice, but for a positive outcome should you follow it."

He said nothing, his focus now on the other two face down cards. She turned the third over, unsure of how she wanted to feel about it. Bacchus grunted at the image of the woman on the card.

"The queen of swords. Your future." She paused a moment, finding that she wanted a taste of her own drink. "It represents a dark haired woman not meant to be trifled with. She can be forceful, but it is to move you into a situation to have your needs met."

Bacchus' fingers continued to tap rapidly on the table, though in a more precise pattern. His cheeks were still flush, but he had sobered somewhat she knew.

"Hurry up and finish." Though he stopped his fingers, there was some shaking in his hand still.

Cana did as he asked, though she wished she hadn't. Her mouth dried and she found she didn't want to bother with telling him the meaning. She was quiet for a moment, trying to find a way of explaining the card to him.

"This is the outcome of your question." Her voice had lowered. "The ten of swords usually symbolizes a sudden and unexpected failure or disaster by a power beyond your control and one without warning or mercy." She went for her drink once more, finding her thirst again. "It is a warning about abusing power."

"Some positive outcome." Bacchus picked up the card, tracing a finger around the edge of it. His look of frustration had vanished, leaving only a blank one in its place.

"It can mean though, that once the disaster is over, you need never worry about the situation again." Cana hoped that would help, but he didn't seem to hear her. She placed a hand on his shoulder as he put the card down. Through his clothing, though subtle, she could feel him shake.

"Ba-… Ahn." She corrected herself. "You'll make it through this."

He did something then that surprised her. While he didn't look up from his drink, he reached his hand across himself to place it on top of the one she had on his shoulder and stroked it gently. Her pulse rose, but she steadied herself.

After a minute he stopped and released her hand, allowing her to gather up her cards and place them back into her bag. He didn't order another drink after he finished the one in front of him. Only sat there looking at the emptied object thoughtfully.

They had not sat long before something perked his attention suddenly as he looked up and across the open area at the dark distance. Hers was pierced as well. It was a familiar feeling that she had felt only in small amounts since they had first come to Yi Kai. Magic power. And a lot of it. She could feel the overwhelming stress in the air that could only belong to a highly skilled mage. Yet, while she could sense the radiance of it, they remained still and from a distance. They know we're here. She was not so ignorant to know that they didn't emit a similar aura to other mages. Though with their lack of magic use lately, while it wouldn't have disappeared completely, it should have stayed lower in levels and been mostly undetectable among others who also carried magic inside them. Cana looked at Bacchus who stared straight ahead still, a frown on his face and a blush in his cheeks. At least he's drunk enough. Despite knowing how much greater his skill improved while intoxicated, there was unease in her. He's likely become more detectable.

There were more magic stresses in the air approaching them. They weren't as powerful, but their numbers were large enough to pose for a tedious battle should they engage. Soon after, there were over a dozen men surrounding the shop causing a ruckus and sitting where they pleased. The men looked battle worn and stank of sweat and an obnoxious perfume but it was clear they had been victorious by their way of manner and belligerence.

"Lang!" They cheered, speaking more praises in Yikani. She noticed how none of them seemed to bother with her or Bacchus, making her feel even less at ease. Where is their captain? That was all she could focus on at the moment as she searched among them cautiously.

"You see the black stones in their ears? They are men of the Black Phoenix battalion." Bacchus whispered over to her. She glimpsed the small black pearl sized earrings glimmer in both of the lobes of the men flocking together. Along with those, they wore black tunics, a large pale blue bird with its wings outstretched upward and its head reared back in a cry stitched onto the back. Most of the men's hair was bound up in a braid that fell to their shoulders, a ribbon the same color of the bird fastening them.

"What are they talking about?" She asked him, noting how much his body language had changed after a moment of staring at them. He had a hand tightly wrapped around his cup and his temples flexed from a clenched jaw.

"They're returning from battle in another mountain village." He was staring at one man in particular now. "That one is bragging about how many women he satisfied and how many screams he recognized while they burned the village down afterward."

Cana's anger came to life once again as she heard Bacchus relay the man's tale. Her hand tightened into a fist as she tried her best to keep from glaring at the man Bacchus spoke of. He was slightly larger than the rest and had a pattern of pale blue stripes on either side of his face starting from under his cheekbones and ending on either side of his chin. His hair was longer than the rest of his men's, reaching down past his shoulder to the middle of his back. He was handsome in a way, even with his facial markings and the closely shaven hairs on his chin and above his lip.

Though he appeared a fair man, even from afar, it was clear how dangerous he was. Out of the others, his magic power emitted the highest level of stress. He won't be an easy opponent. She was sure of that.

"What are we going to do?" Cana asked Bacchus.

"We stay still. Though they are mages as well, they seem to not be able to tell us apart from themselves. If we stay quiet, we might be able to wait them out."

The idea of sitting idle with enemies in sight was difficult for her to wrap her head around, but Cana nodded, sipping at her still unfinished drink. The men continued speaking loudly and at times roughing up one another. Even the server from before became a victim to their antics when one of them pulled her into his lap and openly fondled her in front of his comrades. The men erupted into laugher when one of her breasts was exposed and the man holding her squeezed hard enough to make her yelp.

Cana all but burst forth from the table to attack the man, but Bacchus held fast and firmly to her wrist. They released the woman so that she would go retrieve more drinks for them. The one who held her gave her a hard spank as she stood, yelling something at her in Yikani and was laughing with the rest of the troops when she stumbled off toward the back and brought out more alcohol to serve them. She still bared a single breast when she came back with their drinks.

"You need to calm down." Bacchus leaned over to tell her, his hand still holding to her wrist. "You're going to increase your magic stress level and get us caught." He whispered to her.

"We already know you're here." The fair man called over to them in Fiorian without lifting his gaze from his cup. A smile shyly curled onto his lips as he tilted his head back to drink. The rest of his men had quieted when he spoke, allowing him to speak clearly.

Bacchus did not speak again and only looked straight ahead at the group's leader. After his drink, the man stood, walking over to their table and sat across from them.

"It has been a long time Jian." He began. "You sure have gotten bigger." The man before them spoke confidently. "I almost did not recognize you without your branding."

Bacchus did not answer him and continued to remain steady. His grip on her had tightened, but in a protective way. Cana glanced between them, looking at either of their faces carefully.

"Do you not recognize me?" The man spoke again, feigning a pout. When Bacchus said nothing the pout disappeared into a sly smile and he said something in Yikani. Upon those words came the shock on Bacchus' face as he let go of her wrist. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Qi Peng." His words were hardly a whisper as they slipped from under his breath.

"Lieutenant Qi Peng, now." The man smiled still.

"You were killed in the fire." Bacchus' voice became stronger.

"Ah, so I was." The lieutenant stood then, reaching an arm over his own shoulder. "I was burned along with half the palace and supposedly the slaves within it." He slowly pulled a short pole from where he reached, his eyes never leaving Bacchus'. It was black with intricate designs inlaid with the same blue and white colors as the rest of his garb. "But you see, that's the thing about a phoenix." The pole suddenly lengthened and a large flat blade in the shape of a fiery wing appeared on the end of it. "While we may burn in the fire, we are also reborn from its ashes."

"Maybe we just need a hotter flame then." Bacchus' eyes narrowed at him. Everything had slowed down as Cana watched the next events unfold. With a single wave of his weapon, Bacchus had suddenly flown across the shop, his back slamming into a post. When he struggled to stand, her own body felt heavy trying to stand to run over to him.

"BAC-" She started to call when a ripple of air sent her crashing against a different post not far from him. Her body was tight as she too struggled to move and reach for her cards.

"It is no good, no good. You cannot stand." Qi Peng had calmly walked over to Bacchus and stood over him. Despite the man's words, Cana saw that he was able to get up to his hands and knees, but it only set him up to let Qi Peng give him a swift kick to his gut, landing him onto his back. As she tried to move, the lieutenant looked over at her. With a wave of his weapon, the perfume she had smelled before became stronger. I can't breathe. Her panic did little to help as she tried to reach up to cover her mouth. The perfume. The shop around her was beginning to melt away from her peripheral and she could only focus on the sight ahead. Bacchus. Get up.

"Welcome home, boy." Through her fading vision she saw Qi Peng standing over Bacchus, the fiery phoenix wing halberd pointed at his throat. No. Please. Don't hurt him. But her lips would not move and the darkness around her sight closed in, enveloping her.

A/N: Hey everyone, hope you liked the chapter! I didn't really have much time to edit/revise it too much because of Hell Week here at my work, but I did like it for the most part.

Announcement: Because of my work schedule, I will be posting new chapter updates on THURSDAYS for the next 3 weeks due to my schedule with the show I am doing.

Anyway, thanks for the new follows and favorites! I love getting those emails!

And until next THURSDAY, as always,

Betty B.