LV9 Ch1

Here we go folks, the preview for Luck's Voice. It's been a wild ride for Doc, and now we're at the last book in the series.
We've mostly stayed to Emerita for the entire series as my plan was the story would focus on it. However for the last book we'll see a touch more of the world as Doc had to build something greater to hope to prevail.
I hope you enjoy the preview truncated as it will be as we'll hopefully be on track for starting the new publishing schedule on February 1st.
Anyway, enjoy the words...

Previously…

Doc had done his best to avoid a civil war in Emerita. He’d even spent six years overseas at the cost of seeing his children grow. The Church of Apoc wasn’t going to allow him to continue bringing light back to the world, no matter what. With the knowledge that his absence was no longer helping, Doc returned to Emerita to see his family.

The years of worry that his children would resent him washed away when they rushed into his arms. Tears of joy and relief were spilled; his kids had also been worried he wouldn’t love them. His wives cried, thrilled to have him home once more. He did his best to spend as much time as he possibly could with his family, trying to catch up on all the missed time.

Life was good, even with the worry of what was going to happen looming over them. Doc and his allies weren’t passive during that lull. They laid their own plans for what might happen. Eventually, the church and government made their move, and the good, happy times came to an end… with fatal consequences.

Ginger Lopert, Harrid’s wife, was the first casualty of war. Her carriage was bombed on the same day the Army of Emerita moved to take Doc’s businesses. Ginger, both Driver brothers, Sequoia, and Ayla were in that carriage, and only Ayla came home alive. If not for the gifts Doc had shared with his family, Ayla wouldn’t have survived. Ginger’s death started an old prophecy into motion, one about a good man going to war. His family had always thought it would be Doc, but it turned out that it might’ve meant Harrid, as it was his love that died, making him want to repay those who had sent the assassins.

The civil war of Emerita would become history for its violence and its short period of warfare. With Mother sending her daughters to help, the Emeritan Army was defeated over and over again. When the very earth moves against someone, how can they possibly prevail? Sudden chasms to swallow men, volcanic vents that devastated artillery corps, and storms that drowned entire navies were just some of the ways Mother and her daughters worked to end the war.

All that would be known, but the biggest mystery was the end of the war. A bishop of Apoc used magic to swallow himself, Rosa, Harrid, and Doc in a globe of Darkness. It was a pivotal moment, as it could’ve removed two Voices and the head of Luck’s Templars in one fell swoop. It failed when Doc refused to give up, Rosa raged against the Darkness and found Doc, and Harrid refused to leave his son without him. With the three of them holding off the Darkness, the gods themselves moved to assist them.

The gods surrounded the trio and had a brief meeting. Doc would immortalize that moment in a painting that would become known as ‘The Conclave of the Gods.’ The gods who’d already sent Voices to the world gathered more allies. Love and Justice joined the cause, intending to raise Voices of their own. It was there that important news was spoken: it would take a gathering of multiple Voices to move against Tiberius Apocson, the Pontiffica. Apocson was empowered by the Darkness, but before that, he’d been the Voice of War. The need for multiple Voices to stop him was underscored by news that War’s Voice, Zoya, had already been defeated by Apocson.

With the end of the century coming and the world turning toward the future faster than most would ever believe, Doc knew that Western Emerita alone wouldn’t be enough to stop Apocson. He began to plan for a coalition of Voices and nations to oppose the Fallen Voice. A civil war had been bad enough, but he was afraid of the world war that was likely to come at the turn of the century. He would need to raise nations of believers— Blessed Nations— to withstand Apocson’s wrath.

Chapter One

July 22, 1886

Doc was alone in bed, an unusual event because even his creepy Weed wasn’t there. That meant he had nothing to distract him from his memories of the recent past. The papers had called it the “Shortest War in History,” and it had been. It lasted a single month from start to finish, though it was also one of the bloodiest wars given the short time span. More people died per battle than had ever happened, and most of that came at the hands of Mother’s children.

Doc could still remember the aftermath of Rosa and the other dryads helping Western Emerita. There had been lava fields where none should exist and gaping pits of the dead where men had marched to their deaths. Swallowing the bile that rose in his throat, he took a few deep breaths to try squelching the memories. Rosa had given him her nectar after each battle, but looking back on them, he was horrified at the carnage, even if he didn’t feel it as acutely as he could.

“I’d need a therapist if not for my Weed…” Doc murmured.

He was very grateful for Rosa and all she did for the family. At the moment, though, the fact that she could dull the emotion of painful events was what he was most thankful for. That thought did spark a new one— something radical, yet potentially helpful for the war veterans. He wasn’t sure if it would be accepted by the fighting men and women of the country, but he thought it was worth offering. He’d bring it up to Rosa later, which did make him question where she was, or any of the other lovely dryads who would normally be beside the bed. As if his mental question was a summoning charm, Rosa appeared beside the bed in the next moment.

“Oh, Voice, I’m sorry,” Rosa said, quickly kneeling. “I didn’t mean to leave you without me.”

Reaching out, he stroked her tangled thatch of blue-tinged green hair. Meeting her emerald eyes, he smiled at her. “It’s fine, Rosa. What happened?”

“I was rescuing another of my sister’s remnants so Mother could begin restoring her. A doctor who crossed over from Eastern Emerita had her as part of his pocket watch.”

“Did you kill the doctor?”

“No. I simply snapped the chain and took his watch,” Rosa said.

“Hmm… I’ll have to ask Dodd to see about a law for recovering dryad remains. Make it illegal to own them, maybe?” Doc murmured as he looked past Rosa for a moment.

“Thank you, Voice…” Rosa whispered. She could see that he really wanted to help her with this.

Meeting her eyes again, Doc smiled at her. “Anything for my wives, my love.”

Rosa smiled brightly and pressed her head into his hand on her head. “And we will always thank you.”

“What about Sequoia and Petal?”

“Helping your children and wives,” Rosa whispered. “Ayla and Sophia will be here shortly.”

“To wake me,” Doc chuckled. “I’m sure all of them are pregnant already.”

“They just want to make absolutely certain.”

Doc smiled at the thought of his house full of children before his smile slipped. He never got to voice the thought because Rosa giggled at him.

“No, Doc, it’s okay. I’m fine with not having them. I have all of our wives’ children to care for, along with my sisters. Maybe one day, Mother will find a way for me to have a child, and if she does, then I will ask. For now, don’t be sad for me.”

“I’ll try. I just thought that you might be upset about not having a baby of your own, too.”

“I’m not upset or jealous. I’m happy for all of them.”

“Lia was certainly happy,” Doc chuckled.

“You gave her twins, which she deeply wanted.”

“In a couple of days, I can verify for the others, too.”

“Which will have all of them giddy, but especially Sophia.”

“Wisdom’s Voice… She was enthusiastic about that,” Doc murmured. He clearly recalled just how energetic Sophia had been when she’d been told about it.

Rosa giggled. “Oh, yes.”

“We don’t know who War and Love have chosen yet. Harrid turning down War’s offer sent the deity back to Tsarrus to choose his next Voice. I’m upset that Zoya was killed by Apocson. I liked her.”

“She was thrilled to have been chosen and eager to prove her worth,” Rosa said sadly. “She was likely too eager.”

“I hope that she at least hurt Apocson enough that he has to regroup. Otherwise, Tsarrus and Qin will be in trouble long before we’re ready to deal with him.”

“Luckily, the shamans stayed out of the battle, or else they might have fallen, too. There were only a few witnesses who survived the battle as it was. From what they’ve told the shamans, the warriors Apocson had fighting for him were… shod in metal from head to toe and used weapons that only fired bursts of unholy energy. Zoya’s death potentially came much the same way that we almost died— from a sphere of nothing that erased her and her best warriors.”

Doc was silent for a long moment. “I hope she perished and wasn’t converted like they tried with us. I don’t want to have to face her.”

“Two Voices of War turned… that is terrible to think about,” Rosa shivered.

“It would be,” Doc agreed.

“We have time, though. They said we did.”

“We need all the Voices to come together, minus Wisdom’s. Knowing about Apocson’s weapons, we’ll need to see if Invention can inspire Nickla to come up with something to counter them.”

“I’ll let Rema know. She can make sure the message is passed to him via David.”

“Thank you, my dear Weed.”

“Anything for you, Voice.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Doc said. “I was wondering if your sisters would be willing to help the veterans of the war?”

“Of course. I can arrange for a few to go to the templar’s bastions to offer their help. I’ll let Ginger know so she can inform Harrid.”

“Speaking of… is she alright? I know what she says, but it has to have been hard for her to adjust to.”

Rosa snickered. “No, Voice. Ginger is thrilled to be back with Harrid and Lucky. She even accepted Apple fully.”

“TMI,” Doc laughed.

“Apple won’t ask about a night with you again. Ginger asked about it, then approved as long as Apple only had fun with her and Harrid.”

“I’m happy for them, but let’s stop this conversation,” Doc said.

“As you wish, Voice.”

Before Doc could say anything else, the door opened, allowing Ayla and Sophia in. “Good, you’re awake,” Ayla smiled. “We have nearly an hour before we have to be down for breakfast.”

“Which we plan to use to ensure we’re pregnant,” Sophia said.

“A couple more days, and we should know for sure,” Doc said.

“Until it’s certain, we’ll keep on like we have been,” Ayla said as Sophia helped her strip her dress off. “If that’s okay, sir?”

Doc chuckled and tossed the blankets off. “Perfectly fine, my loves. Weed, go help them undress.”

“As you command, Voice,” Rosa said as she hurried to comply.

~~~

“Good morning,” Doc said as he led Ayla, Sophia, and Rosa into the room.

His children and wives greeted him and the others. Doc made sure to sit his wives first, then went around to hug his kids and kiss his wives. He did make sure to give Posy a hug, as she was basically his daughter, too.

“Anything going on that I need to be told about?” Doc asked.

“You had a few requests to see you,” Fiala said, her cat ears twitching slightly. “I refused most of them because you’ve said you only want to deal with people you’ve dealt with before. However, there was a new request, and I wasn’t sure about it.”

“Who is it?” Doc asked.

“Clarice Barton. She wanted to see if you’d sponsor the start of a branch of the Red Heart for Western Emerita.”

Doc frowned. The name sounded familiar, and when Fiala mentioned the Red Heart, it clicked together. “Is she in Furden?”

“Yes. Should I ask her to come out?”

“I’ll go to her,” Doc said. “Ayla, I’ll need you and Fiala, if you want to come, too. I don’t want to be a recluse, so making trips to Aurora and Furden needs to happen. Hopefully, it won’t turn into a circus.”

“She did say that if we wanted to visit her, she was amenable,” Fiala said.

“Doc,” Sonya said, her warm brown eyes full of love as she looked at him, “I’ve also fielded a few requests from clans in Eastern Emerita. At least two have sent envoys to the Ironbeard clan.”

“Karl’s talked to them?”

“He has, and he was the one who sent word to me about them being there,” Sonya nodded.

“We can make that a stop today, too,” Doc said. “You should come along with us, then.”

“I’ll stay here with the children,” Lia said.

It was odd seeing Lia in a dress again after so long in her buckskins, but she’d done as she said and set her guns down to care for their family. Her long blonde hair was pinned back by combs instead of the tight braid she’d been wearing it in. When she met his eyes, her lips twitched into a smirk.

“As you wish, my love,” Doc smiled back at her.

“There was one other request for a meeting,” Sophia said. “A distant relative of mine did ask, but he’d have to make the trip from the other side of the country.”

“Who?”

“Chief Justice Samuel Sagesse. He’s the head of Eastern Emerita’s Supreme Court.”

“He wants to talk with me?” Doc asked.

“Very much. His letter was quite impassioned.”

“I don’t think it’d be good for him, but if you think I should, I will.”

“Doc, most of my extended family wants to talk with you,” Sophia said, her feathers ruffling slightly. “You spoke, if briefly, with Wisdom. You’ve given me a dozen paintings of her to send out to the greater Sagesse family. I’ve told most of them that you’re too busy, but a few of the most important members I will ask for.”

“I didn’t really get to talk to her,” Doc said. “I don’t want anyone thinking I held an actual conversation with the gods in that moment.”

“I made it quite clear about how briefly you met her, but knowing that she’s sending a Voice has excited all of them.”

“Okay.”

“That was something I wanted to address,” Ayla said. “The painting of the gods meeting… When did we want to allow that out for the world to see?”

Doc took a deep breath. “That’s a big question. It’ll cause a lot of commotion.”

“Of course, it will,” Lia said. “We knew about it and even we were shocked by seeing them all.”

“I could use advice on this point.”

“We’ll table it for now, but I think we should make a small event of adding it to the temple in Furden. Maybe when the renovations are done?”

“I missed something, didn’t I?” Doc asked.

“You were busy when you got back,” Fiala smiled softly. “You said you wanted the temples and churches to hold all the gods. We made sure it was set in motion, starting with the one in Furden.”

“Right,” Doc said, nodding. “We should set that up. I did mention it during the welcome home parade, so it won’t be entirely unknown.”

“Breakfast,” Daf announced as she led Charles and Olka into the room with carts.