Last Life

I MADE IT DOWN THE ALLEY with no surprises, coming out right behind the crowd of onlookers waiting for the free entertainment. Based on the brief phrases the audience kept throwing out, squabbles between minor nobles were the norm here.

Incidentally, that added another point to my plan. Sooner or later, I would have to get myself a couple reliable guards, preferably veterans, and eventually a whole small army like the Count de Angland.

It would cost me a pretty penny, but such was the price of relative comfort and peace. If the Viscount de Angland for instance had smacked de Nevers, he most likely would not have found the courage to drag ten ragamuffins to the walls of his castle. But he could try that with me. I was a loner. Living in a ramshackle annex. I had no backers, and de Nevers knew that perfectly well. On top of that, I had seemingly messed up by violating some sort of code. Although that was really just a pretext.

As an aside, I would have to study local customs and manners in greater depth at some point. Seemingly, my status as a nobleman did not make me untouchable. Especially in disputes between two nobles like this. And the fact de Nevers had brought backup was not his problem, but mine. The redheaded chevalier was also doing so openly, which meant that he felt he was in the right.

Carefully slipping through the crowd of onlookers, I stopped next to Trixie, who was still standing in the first row staring at my windows.

Nobody noticed me arrive. Everyone was too absorbed by the performance one of the mercenaries was putting on. The smallest one with the biggest voice.

I must note that he also had the gift of gab. He was giving a lively, colorful description of how low I’d stooped, and loudly telling the crowd just how they would teach me a lesson for my lack of honor.

I noticed an important detail — de Nevers had not ordered them to break into my house even though the flimsy door would have been no obstacle to his goons. And that meant there were some laws governing these circumstances after all.

I quickly looked around at the crowd and snorted. While I took care of the ambush at my back door, new actors had come on the scene. Five city guards headed by the familiar Jérôme Tonnerre, sergeant of the Second Cohort. His deputy, the hulking Henri Morelle, was also present.

My lips stretched into a smile all on their own. Curious laws in this world. I was starting to like it more and more.

A moment later, I sensed someone staring at me. I turned my head to the barn, where Jacques was perched on a log. We met eyes.

A sly smile danced on the veteran’s face. He even got himself a more comfortable seat. I just rolled my eyes and shook my head. One more audience member for the competition to wring my neck. My expression only added to his amusement.

Crouching down, I picked up a bit of snow in both hands. Today was noticeably warmer than yesterday. The snow was wet and sticky.

Trixie, clearly sensing some movement to her right, turned her head. A brief moment of realization and her eyes grew wide while her lower jaw crept down.

“Thank you for the warning, my sweet,” I smiled at her and nodded at my windows. “I owe you one.”

“Monsieur,” Trixie said nervously, and shot a glance down the alley where I had emerged from just a few seconds earlier. “There are four more that way...”

“You needn’t worry about them,” I came, continuing to ball up the snow in my hands.

“Why are you still here?” she whispered back agitatedly. “Run before they see you!”

I smiled and tossed the small but rock-hard snowball back in forth in my hands.

“And miss out on all the fun? No way.”

The whole time I was talking to Trixie, I had my eye on the loudmouth who was getting more and more fired up while his employer looked on in approval.

“Rena-a-ard!” his pockmarked mouth spread into a jeering grin. “Come out! Be a man! You must answer for your ignoble deed! If you come out right now, I’m certain that our noble employer will let mercy prevail over his anger! Just ten lashings, Renard! And the incident is settled!”

Once finished with that speech, the mercenary turned and tossed an ingratiating look at his employer. As if to ask if he was doing everything to his master’s satisfaction and see if he should continue. And that was exactly when I caught him.

Sending a wave of energy out into my body, I took a step forward. One second later, the hard lump of snow slammed into the mercenary’s pockmarked mouth as fast as a stone from a slingshot. The loudmouth’s head flapped back, and he fell unconscious into a snowdrift.

A gasp flew down the crowd of onlookers. While de Nevers and his mongrels stared in surprise at the loudmouth lying in the snow, I dashed over to within a step of the nearest mercenary.

The thickset bearded man with a bull’s neck took a hard elbow to the back of the head and fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Next in my path was the gaunt blond whose kneecap I shattered with a leg sweep.

I wanted to draw the attention of the other mercenaries and boy did I ever. Falling to the ground, the blond clutched at his leg, hitting a very high note as he wailed out to the whole neighborhood.

I took a glance at Jacques, who winced in disgust as he watched the man turning over in the snow.

“They just don’t make mercenaries like they used to,” I said to him, unclogging my right ear with my pinky for effect. “With a voice like that, he shouldn’t be going to war. He needs to head to a temple to sing in the choir.”

Jacques laughed and shook his head. He was sitting on his log with arms folded across his chest, waiting for the scene to unfold. It was clear I could not expect his help, and I didn’t need it. Seemingly, the veteran was aware of that, so he just sat back and enjoyed the show.

In the meantime, the three mercenaries still on their feet turned my direction. Based on their long faces and stunned looks, they weren’t expecting so much verve out of me. And I couldn’t blame them. Just one second ago, there were six of them. Heh... And they still didn’t know about the Jack Evans quartet I laid out in the back yard.

But their redheaded employer, now all red like a tomato, was frothing at the mouth.

“What are you standing around for?!” de Nevers shouted. “Seize him!”

“Why not you? Not up to the task?!” I asked loudly with a mocking edge in my voice.

“You violated the code!” de Nevers barked. “You made a sneak attack on me after being challenged to a duel! I am in the right!”

“If memory serves, there were two of you against one of me on that stairwell where I nailed you in the scruff of the neck. And you were first to raise a hand against me. You tried to stop me. By the way, since when have you been Paul Lepetit’s errand boy? And the biggest question: were you personally involved in the beating of my servant, when he came to collect his winnings?”

De Nevers’ face just got redder with every word I said. A fire of fury danced in his eyes. Instead of words, just growling came from his throat. Yep, Max really had a talent for making friends.

Still, I didn’t actually care about de Nevers. I was instead keeping an eye on the city guard’s reaction. And I must say, the seed of doubt I was trying to sow hit fertile ground. I could now read scorn in Jérôme Tonnerre’s face. For the record, his deputy was no longer looking at me with a smirk like the first time we met. I saw doubt and incomprehension in his eyes. Someone had undergone a paradigm shift today.

Meanwhile the mercenaries, quickly getting themselves together, lost no time. The trio still on their feet blocked my retreat fairly deftly. They didn’t care one bit about our squabble. They’d gotten paid — now it was time to do the job.

While watching them maneuver, I chuckled.

“Boys! I don’t know how much he paid you, but you’re going to end up spending more than that on physicians!”

The mercenaries ignored that and, obeying a short nod from the gray-haired hulk who appeared to be their commander, they all came straight at me.

They attacked in silence and quite competently. I could sense a wealth of practice in their actions. And to top it all off, they understood one another without a word. This must not have been their first time working together as mercenaries. Were Max or anyone else in my place now, they would easily subdue them without a word. But today was not their lucky day.

Directing a wave of energy out into my body, I dashed forward at the thickset bearded man running at me whose nose slanted to one side, making his face look disproportionate and angular.

Ducking under the thickset man’s left elbow, I pivoted and right-hand punched him full force beneath the shoulder blade. I invested a bit more energy into that blow to get through the thick leather of his vest. The man buckled over and screamed loudly. Taking a few more steps forward out of inertia, he fell to his knees, then slowly fell face-down into a snowdrift.

After that, I worked my way behind my remaining opponents. Meanwhile, the gray-haired mercenary commander just so happened to be in the line of attack of the bald bruiser coming at me from the left. Which I immediately took advantage of, unloading a straight kick into the gray-haired man’s back. I didn’t spare energy. My reservoir was still being filled steadily by the green mana.

Flying a few steps forward, the gray-hair slammed into his henchman, knocking him off his feet. Floundering clumsily in the snow, the pair looked like beetles flipped onto their backs by some little troublemaker.

The crowd gathered in front of my annex found it an amusing sight. I heard laughter and applause. They were often bored. They craved entertainment. And here there was more than they could shake a stick at and, to top it off, it was free.

I didn’t let my opponents get back up. A few energy blows to their pain points, and they fell silent in the snow.

Waving my hands for effect, I turned to de Nevers, now as still as a pillar of salt.

“This might as well be over,” I said to him, seeing the guards glancing at me in astonishment. “You thought you could take me down by hiring ten peasants? De Nevers, you disappoint me. Yes, yes, don’t look over there. The four you left to watch the back door can’t help you now.”

The redhead stumbled forward like he’d been slapped and reached for his sword. I bared my teeth. Bring it on! Let’s go! Draw your sword! I’ll finish you off here and now.

Most likely, under different circumstances, my provocation would have worked. But Jérôme Tonnerre knew just when to step in.

“Chevalier de Nevers!” he cried out in a commanding voice. “Stop what you are doing at once! The second you draw your sword, you’ll be breaking every law in the book. Both those of our city, and those of honor! On top of that, let me remind you: if you continue to pursue the Chevalier Renard, this city’s authorities will have no choice but to view that as a crime! You had a chance to call him to respond. You have now used it. If you have any remaining issues with the Chevalier Renard, I advise you to take them up in magistrate court!”

“Well, I take issue with the Chevalier de Nevers!” I shouted. “I believe him to be a coward and a miscreant! De Nevers, by some strange whim of the gods, you were born into a noble family, and now it is up to me to remedy that error! Alas, I will have to punish you as dictated by the code of honor even though, with the gods as my witnesses, after all the dirty deeds you committed to sully your noble title, I really should be punishing you like a commoner! I hereby challenge you, scoundrel! Tomorrow, same time, at the duelyard!”

I of course could have just twisted his neck right there, but what a convenient chance had presented itself to me. Max’s reputation, which had been reduced to tatters over the last few months, had to be restored. I had to present myself as a nobleman in the eyes of the people. Based on the looks of respect the guards cast my way, and the welcoming outbursts from the crowd of onlookers — I was off to a good start. Word would start spreading through town pretty quickly.

“I accept your challenge!” de Nevers barked out. “We fight with swords! You die tomorrow!”

After saying that, the chevalier, ignoring the mercenaries strewn about on the snow, hurried to leave. Following him with a thoughtful gaze, I turned to the sergeant and his deputy who walked up to me.

“I hope you will not hold this against us, chevalier?” Jérôme Tonnerre asked. “Even His Lordship the Count de Brionne, lord of these lands, would scarcely have intervened.”

“Everything is fine, sergeant,” I nodded. “I understand completely. And I am grateful to you for saving the life of that moron de Nevers. Now I can put an end to this legally without violating the code of honor.”

The sergeant and his giant deputy exchanged understanding glances. This time, neither one of them picked on me.

“On top of that, I’d like to thank you for your timely arrival,” I came.

“Such is our duty, Monsieur Renard,” the sergeant and his deputy gave short bows.

I just snorted to myself. Well, well, look at that. Expecting more concrete gratitude, no doubt. I would never disappoint the keepers of the law. I had to make sure they were eating well. Especially the sergeant seemed like a good guy to me.

“And nevertheless,” I objected and took three silver crowns from the small pocket of my breeches. “Here, for a drink to His Majesty’s health. On top of that, everything you can find on the men I defeated is yours. With one condition — I don’t want to see any trace of what happened here in one hour’s time.”

Jérôme Tonnerre and Henry Morelle’s eyes crept up into their foreheads when they saw the silver.

“Thank you, Monsieur Renard,” the sergeant said in a rasping voice and stretched out a bit. “Don’t you worry. We’ll have it cleaned up a lot faster than that.”

“You have my gratitude, gentlemen,” I nodded and headed toward the front door of my annex.

Bertrand was waiting for me in the doorway, wrapped in a blanket. A look of confusion and bafflement was frozen on his pale face.

I tensed up. What was wrong with him? I quickly scanned his energy system and breathed a sigh of relief. Weakness aside, he was still on the slow but steady path to recovery.

“Old fellow, what’s the matter?” I asked with concern, stopping a step away.

“Monsieur,” he said quietly as if seeing me for the first time. “I... I...”

“What happened?”

“I no longer recognize you, monsieur,” the old man finally managed to squeeze out. He glanced around bleary eyed at the scene of the brawl and looked me in the eyes. “You are not the same Maximilian Renard I’ve known since childhood... Winning a duel. Attacking a bookmaker’s office. And this just now... The old Max would never have been capable of it.”

I smiled carelessly and looked around. Making certain no one would hear us, I sighed and said to Bertrand:

“Well, old fellow. It had to happen sooner or later. I have a secret to tell you. Let’s go inside. You don’t want your master catching bronchitis after all, do you?”

The old man gasped and, stumbling, quickly tore off his blanket and swaddled me in it like a baby. And that was a good sign. Bertrand did not hold anything against me. No matter what he may have said — I was still Max to him.

I was also aware that Bertrand was no fool, and sooner or later this conversation did in fact have to take place. Jacques as well, who had already figured everything out, might have said something sooner or later. So I already had an explanation ready.

While entering the room, I walked up to the little stove. Setting my hand on its warm wall, I exhaled wearily. I wasn’t cold, and my energy system was still in perfect shape, but it was a way of showing Bertrand that I was a normal man who could feel cold or exhausted.

The old man stood behind me in silence. Rubbing my hands together, I turned and looked at him. I saw no fear or malice in his eyes. Just concern. Vadoma, my adoptive mother, used to look at me the same way.

“What I’m about to tell you, old fellow, has to stay between us,” I started. “Eventually, we will reveal this secret to the world, but that’s for later. It’s too early to consider that now.”

The old man nodded hurriedly, staring at me with devotion.

“You’re partially right, my friend. On the day de Lamar wounded me, I did indeed change. Or rather, I was reborn. There, on the line that separates life from death, I was given a gift. Do you understand what Gift I am referring to?”

The old man gulped loudly with a parched throat. A spark of comprehension lit up in his eyes. Tears of joy streamed down his sunken cheeks.

“Y-yes, monsieur,” he whispered, hiccupping anxiously while looking at me with admiration. “You... You have become a mage!”