The Deceit of Tongues

by N M Zoltack

  Just then, a falcon called, and Marcellus held out his arm. The falcon perched willingly enough, and Marcellus fetched the scroll tied to the bird’s talons. The majestic bird remained on his arm as Marcellus sought out his father, who was in the forum.

  His father waved Jovian Decimus away, his father’s main advisor. Jovian bowed and left them.

  “What is it?” his father asked.

  Marcellus handed him the scroll. “I have not read it yet.”

  His father pursed his lips. “You could have, son. I trust you with everything and all matters.”

  Smoothly, crisply, his father unraveled the scroll and held it such that Marcellus could read alongside him.

  “Another tournament?” Marcellus shook his head. “Do they think us ignorant concerning the one they just held that they did not invite us to?”

  “And a grand ball in two weeks’ time.” His father shook his head. “It is possible the monsoon season will not be over that early.”

  Marcellus agreed. “The tide has been rather unpredictable this year.”

  “Yes, such erratic behavior typically suggests more monsoons rather than less.” His father stroked his beard. “If we could be certain that the warships would be ready in such a period of time, then I would suggest that we make our move then.”

  “The festivities are to last an entire week,” Marcellus said. “We can go with a regular ship. Before the week is over, the warships can arrive with the masses.”

  His father nodded. “I do appreciate your thoughts on this matter. I agree. So long as everything happens as we plan, then, yes, we shall make our first declaration of war then. I will announce then to the world beyond Vincana that I am king.”

  He fetched a quill and ink and on the same letter as the falcon had brought penned a quick response. His father handed the scroll to Marcellus, who tied it to the falcon’s talon.

  “Go on home,” Marcellus murmured.

  The falcon called, spread its impressive wings, and flew away with three monstrous flaps of his wings.

  Once the bird was out of sight, Marcellus turned to face the center floor of the forum. There rested the helms of the five Tenoch guards meant to watch over Vincana and maintain the peace. In other various locations on the island were more helms. In total, twenty guards had been posted here, and all twenty were now dead.

  There was no going back now. War would soon be upon them. Marcellus could only hope that the monsoons would not delay their efforts.

  24

  Rase Ainsley

  It took Rase over a week before he was able to follow his pa all the way into the marketplace. Despite trying his best, the crowded area was far too large for Rase to keep up with his pa. It certainly didn’t help any that Pa slipped between the stalls and hordes of people as if he were as thin as a pole. Rase would be close enough that he could reach out and touch his pa’s back, and then, his pa would be five people ahead of him.

  The first time Rase spied his pa knock into a stall, Rase didn’t think anything of it. After the third time, Rase realized that each stall contained food, specifically the kinds of fruit and vegetables Pa had been bringing home lately for months.

  Up ahead was another stall that caught Rase’s eye. A butcher was selling meat.

  Rase’s Pa circled around the stall several times. Once it was crowded with customers, Pa came back around, and Rase watched as, to his horror, his pa walked on by and grabbed some meat that had already been packaged.

  Pa didn’t have a job.

  Pa was nothing more than a common thief!

  Rase was so shocked and furious that he stood there for a long moment. People pushed and jostled around him, trying to get by.

  How could Pa do such a thing? If he were caught, what would happen Would they cut off his hand? They wouldn’t execute someone for stealing, would they?

  It took Rase two hours before he spied his pa again in the marketplace. Thankfully, his pa didn’t steal any more food, at least not that Rase could see. The boy waited impatiently for Pa to leave the marketplace.

  Once they were far enough away from the crowd of people leaving the marketplace, Rase rushed up to stand beside his pa.

  Immediately, Pa stiffened until he glanced over and saw Rase was the newcomer. “Rase, my boy! What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing,” Rase said angrily.

  Pa laughed, but the noise wasn’t as joyful as it had been the past few months. Rase hated to think that the source of his pa’s happiness this entire time had been because he had found it in himself to resort to thievery.

  “Just went to the market to buy—”

  “I saw what you did,” Rase said quietly, no longer walking.

  Pa continued on a few more strides before he turned back around. “I don’t know that you think you—”

  Rase marched over to him and poked a finger at his pa’s belly, which looked to be protruding but only because of the stolen food crammed down his tunic.

  “I know what I saw, and I know you took food and that no coins exchanged hands,” Rase said, keeping his tone low, but his anger could not be ignored.

  “Rase, you don’t understand—”

  “And I don’t want to!” Rase cried. “This isn’t us! This can’t be us!”

  “How are we to make any coins?” his pa demanded. “No one will hire me. I have no—”

  “What was your pa?” Rase demanded. “Why couldn’t you have followed in his footsteps?”

  “My pa.” The elder Ainsley hung his head.

  Rase furrowed his brow and scratched the side of his neck. “I don’t understand.”

  “My pa was a thief. He never amounted to anything. He was a servant for a noble household until he was caught. A maid covered for him. They were both sent away. She was able to get work at another household, but my pa couldn’t. He was scorned. Everyone was told about his transgression. Eventually…” Rase’s Pa turned his head to the side and stared off into the distance, his gaze unfocused.

  “Eventually what?” Rase prompted.

  “Eventually, he married that maid,” his pa said. “They had me. The scorn of my pa prevented me from finding anyone to train me. I had managed to sell enough vegetables to make some coins, enough to impress your mother with. What she saw in me, I don’t know, but we’re similar, her and I. Her parents had their own demons, too, but they managed to acquire a farm. When we married, the farm came to her, but Starla and her parents never truly learned how to manage it themselves. How could the two of us? So I sold it, and I…”

  “You gambled it away,” Rase said blankly.

  Pa turned his gaze to Rase, his stare sharp and pointed. “Yes,” he said bitterly. “My pa was a thief, and hers gambled. He was able to gain the farm, but I lost it.”

  “I’m sure her pa lost things too,” Rase said after a short pause.

  His pa blinked several times and then coughed into his fist. He blinked some more, and Rase realized that his pa was trying to hold back tears.

  “I wasn’t ever able to live the life I wanted, and I wasn’t able to give you children or your ma the life I wanted for us all. I still don’t know how to make that happen, but I am trying. I just… I don’t want you to become like me. I don’t know how to break the cycle. I don’t know if there is a way to.”

  Rase put his hands on his hips. “It’s simple really,” he said.

  “What is?”

  “Breaking the cycle.”

  “How?” Pa asked miserably.

  Rase hated this, that he had to be the one acting like the father, but he could see it. His pa was broken. Life had broken Pa. It wasn’t fair, but they had to deal with their challenges and not continually fail.

  “Don’t steal anymore,” Rase said. “You have to stop.”

  “But if I stop—”

  “We can survive,” Rase said.

  “But we’re thriving—”

  Rase lifted his shirt to reveal just how thin he remained. “I am thirtee
n years old now, Pa, but if anyone were to guess my age, I would be lucky if they think I’m nine.”

  “You’re healthy enough,” Pa said, but his voice was hoarse.

  “You sold vegetables to gain Ma’s hand, right?” Rase asked desperately. “How did you get those vegetables? Did you grow them?”

  Pa just glanced away, but that was answer enough.

  25

  Queen Sabine Grantham

  Sabine was pleased beyond measure. While she was not certain if Advisor Aldus Perez suspected that this Ulric Cooper was truly the prince’s killer or not, she had found someone to pin the blame on. None will dare to think that Greta had anything to do with this. Her mother could finally put all worry to bed.

  After Prince Noll had fallen to his death, Sabine had considered changing her mother’s quarters yet again. In the end, she opted not to. After all, her mother had the foresight to not attack Noll in her room and then had pushed him down the stairs that were not the closest to her quarters.

  Sabine could hardly believe how cold and calculating her own mother could be. What lengths would she go to keep Sabine on the throne? What if her mother one day realized that Sabine had her own mind and her own agenda? Would her mother dare to push Sabine out a window as well? Or would her mother resort to poison instead?

  If someone were to look at whose rooms were along that side of the castle, they should have no reason to suspect that Greta had been involved. Although that was the truth, none could ever learn that fact. Her mother should be safe.

  For now.

  If someone should mention her mother at any time for any reason, all Sabine merely had to say that someone was looking to frame her mother. That lie would be rather believable. As much as many supported Sabine as the ruling queen, there were some who preferred the Riveras, preferred that ignorant Rosalynne. Worse, despite the Riveras attempt to kill all of the Li supporters, Sabine knew that several still lived.

  Her mother’s room was Sabine’s current destination, and she headed there now. Afterward, she planned on going out to see the people. They adored her, and she enjoyed all of the attention they gave her, the food, the gifts. One woman had even given Sabine a ring that had been in her family for generations. It was lovely, a ring of sapphires around a large round diamond. Sabine had worn it every day since that occasion.

  So long as she had the people behind her, Sabine knew that the crown was safely hers.

  It is an unfortunate matter that my own mother seems to think she has any sense of power herself. She is not behind me, at least not as I would prefer her to be.

  Frowning slightly, Sabine knocked on her mother’s door. Without waiting for her mother to respond, she pushed the door open.

  Her mother stood at her window, her back to Sabine, her hands clasped behind her.

  “You will be happy to know that the man responsible for the prince’s death has been arrested and thrown into a prison cell,” Sabine said, mindful of her guard standing outside the door.

  Sabine had yet to talk to Thorley much. She still believed him to be loyal to Rosalynne. One day, perhaps tomorrow or even later today, she would start to see if she could not chip away at his devotion. If she could use the man against Rosalynne whom Rosalynne wished to use against her, well, then Sabine would have the upper hand.

  “It took you long enough,” her mother said curtly. She finally turned aside from the window, crossed over to her bed, and sat upon the end of it.

  Sabine’s frowned deepened.

  Her mother glanced over and sighed. “No one looks beautiful when they frown. Do you wish to have wrinkles? Do I have wrinkles? No. Because I do not frown.”

  “You do not smile either,” Sabine muttered.

  Her mother shrugged. “Perhaps not but I have my looks and that can help a woman more than most anything. Men think of us as weak, but we are not. We control them more than they control us. If they only knew.”

  “So you say,” Sabine said stiffly.

  Her mother eyed her curiously. “What is it?” she demanded.

  “I thought you would be pleased.”

  “I am.”

  “More pleased.”

  “My dear girl, you are queen, are you not? You should not need acceptance from anyone, not even me. Why do you feel so inferior? I strove so hard to teach you, and still, you fail me.”

  Fury had Sabine flaring her nostrils, but she took in a few deep breathes so as to channel her anger and frustration.

  “You are furious still that I…” Sabine crossed over to her mother and lowered her voice so no one else could possibly overhear, especially not the guard posted outside of her mother’s quarters. “That I did not kill the prince.”

  “Or the princess. We must assume that she lives until she is found either dead or alive,” her mother pointed out. “As well as the other.”

  Sabine’s stomach churned. She was willing to do whatever proved necessary to maintain her power, but she did not think that she needed to kill to do so. Nor did she think that her mother needed to do so on her behalf.

  “The people of Tenoch love me,” Sabine began.

  “That is where you are foolish,” her mother snapped. “Yes, so you have Atlan on your side, and considering that is where Rosalynne should have the most power, that is saying something. Without a doubt, you have Etian behind you. However, what of Maloyan? The way that tournament winner Bjorn Ivano cozies up to Rosalynne whatever chance he gets suggests she has there.”

  “I have plans in store for Vincana,” Sabine said sullenly. “With them, I can rest easy. Tenoch Proper will not fail if the queen and a Vincanan can forge an alliance.”

  “Can you keep a Vincana happy?” her mother asked. She was sneering ever so slightly, and lips had appeared around her mouth. Sabine knew better than to point this out to her mother.

  “Why wouldn’t I be able to?” Sabine brushed her long, blond curls over her shoulder.

  “Because I know you, my daughter, and you will lie with whomever to get what you wish.”

  “As if you married a second time for love,” Sabine said. “You wanted us to become nobles, so you wed. It was not for any other reason than power.”

  “If I had not, you would not be wearing that crown now,” her mother said coolly. “I have made you.”

  “I have made myself,” Sabine snapped.

  Her mother rose to her feet, as graceful and elegant as any queen. The skirt of her gown fell perfectly, without a hint of a wrinkle from her movements.

  “You would do better than to cross me,” her mother said evenly.

  Was that a threat? Sabine was not shocked at all by this.

  She inhaled deeply and realized that she was playing a game, a most dangerous game. Already, she knew that Rosalynne was a player. Vivian too, wherever the princess was. Aldus. Even that vicar. The guard Thorley. Even in death Noll and Jankin.

  Her mother as well. All of them could prove to be vipers, although Sabine knew that Aldus Perez was true. Already, the two of them had talked at lengths about the measures he would take to ensure Rosalynne would trust him as her advisor even as he openly advised Sabine too and behind closed doors as well.

  “Why are you smiling?” her mother asked critically.

  “Because I will never cross you,” Sabine said sweetly.

  Her mother appraised her and nodded as if satisfied. “Very well. Good. I have done much and more for you, far more than most mothers would for their child.”

  “Yes, indeed. Do not worry, Mother. I appreciate all you have done for me, and I will never forget all that you have sacrificed on my behalf. Allow me to find room for you on my council. Would you appreciate that?”

  Her mother beamed, smiling wide for once in her life. “Yes, indeed. You are not as ignorant as you look. You always look so very beautiful, but you often come across as ignorant. It gladdens my heart to see you have a brain after all.”

  “Of course I have a brain.” Sabine smiled so wide her cheeks ached. “I am my mother�
��s daughter.”

  “That you are.” Her mother nodded and clasped Sabine’s hand, squeezing it.

  Sabine squeezed back. And if you are willing to be deceptive and scheming behind my back as I am not certain you are, then I will react in kind.

  “I have other obligations to attend to,” Sabine said, “if you will pardon me.”

  “Certainly, my daughter.”

  Sabine embraced her mother and left the room. As her ever-present shadow, Thorley trailed behind her. Just the sight of him gave Sabine an idea. Her mother should have a guard as well, one who was loyal to her and her alone. No doubt Aldus could help her locate one. For now, Sabine was going to visit someone who must certainly would not wish to see her.

  Down in the depths of the dungeon was cold and damp. Sabine hated it here, but she was not about to allow the prisoner free from his cell. No, he must remain there or at least for now. If her mother proved too much of a threat…

  Once Sabine stepped onto the dungeon floor, she turned. Thorley had to abruptly halt so as to not bump into her.

  “Please, won’t you go and see that Aldus is ready for a meeting? I do not have an appointment with him.”

  Thorley hesitated. “My Queen, I am bound to serve you, yes, but I am to guard over you as well.”

  “You must do as I say.”

  “Yes, but you are in the dungeon. The sole prisoner is charged with killing a royal!”

  “As I am well aware,” she said dryly.

  She eyed him curiously. This would be the first time that he would not be in her presence. Would he run to Rosalynne now that she was giving him leave to depart from her side? Then again, she supposed that he could have sought out the younger queen each and every night while she slept.

  “There are other guards down here,” she said. “I will be quite all right, unless you think yourself the only competent guard?”

  The dim lighting from the flickering torches held in scones along the dungeon walls cast more shadows the illumination, but still, Sabine could see the guard’s cheeks redden with embarrassment.