by Tammy Walsh
Changelings weren’t capable of mercy, not if it wasn’t in their interest.
“As for your sister, she’s tucked away safely upstairs,” S’lec-Quos said. “The moment the Titans get over your death, there will be a marriage between her and Zes.”
Zes stood to one side, thumbs tucked into the belt beneath his gut.
Betrayer.
“A union that will fuse the old Titan world and the new Changeling one,” S’lec-Quos said, “and usher in a new age of prosperity.”
“Then why aren’t I dead already?” I said. “Why are you telling me this?”
S’lec-Quos leaned down.
“Because there is still a way for you to keep your neck,” he said. “Even now, we Changelings are capable of forgiveness. You will tell the people you betrayed them. Tell them you were going to sell them out but we, the Changelings, saved them.”
“Why would I do something like that?” I said.
“Because if you don’t, Sirena will die and your sister will die shortly after the wedding,” S’lec-Quos said.
“And why would you keep your word?” I said.
S’lec-Quos chuckled like I’d made the funniest joke in the world.
“You are the one who broke your pledge, remember?” he said. “Not us.”
There was no way they were going to keep their word. Not if there was a profit in it for them. Just as I knew they wouldn’t waste valuable resources in keeping me alive. They would kill me the moment I got off that stage.
I extended my hand.
S’lec-Quos peered at it in confusion.
“A sign of trust,” I said.
S’lec-Quos took it and we shook.
He was going to betray me, that much was obvious.
My stomach performed somersaults.
But what would I say when the moment came? Would I lie and save my people’s lives again? Or tell the truth and sacrifice countless Titan lives?
I had no idea.
But at least I just bought myself a little more time to think.
A lot less time than I’d hoped, as it turned out.
The crowd’s murmurs grew louder as I stepped onto the stage. The restraints jangled at my wrists and ankles. There, arranged at each corner of the stage, a holographic projector that could both capture and project holograms from the blinking white lights on their surface.
They could transport apparitions of me across time and space to homes and factories on distant planets and moons and meteors in countless locations across the galaxy.
Titan workers would be pausing and tapping their friends on the shoulder to get their attention. Meanwhile, their Changeling supervisors would harangue them about getting back to work. The workers would ignore him. The threats he made didn’t matter.
And on other planets, in warm homes where children played, concerned parents would clutch their kids close and watch the events taking place. In some of those homes, Changeling inspectors would be ensuring homes met ‘safety’ standards—which in reality meant they were in the process of planting bugs to listen to what the families were thinking and saying.
The Titans spread out before me now were but a tiny fraction of the audience watching me. I gave my attention entirely to them. They represented every other Titan, male or female, child or adult, spread throughout the galaxy.
There were so many judging eyes in the crowd, so much hatred. A kind decision made for the right reason could still be the wrong decision.
A voice interrupted my thoughts:
“They are ready,” Qale had said. “They were born ready.”
Looking out at them now, I knew that to be a lie. They stared at me with venom that suggested they wanted to tear me apart with their bare hands.
I had given them to our enemies.
No matter the reason, it still amounted to the same thing.
I hung my head in shame.
S’lec-Quos got to his feet armed with a tall walking stick. At one end, a curved blade glinted off the bright sunlight.
The tool he would use to punish me.
He looked out at the crowd of Titans before turning back to me.
“The great House of Taw has served the people of Titan for centuries,” S’lec-Quos said, “leading it in times of trouble and strife, through good and bad. It has always stood as a beacon of hope.”
I peered up at the cloudless blue sky at the mountain in the distance. The heap of wood was barely visible from here. I wished it would self-combust and leap into flames. But it didn’t.
And it wouldn’t.
Because I had failed.
“You, Kal of House Taw, do hereby stand accused of treachery,” S’lec-Quos said. “You planned on sacrificing the people for your own benefit. It is we, the Changelings, who discovered how deeply the rot runs at House Taw. You have been removed and shall never darken the door of House Taw again.”
The Titans’ attention snapped to me. The question was written on their faces: Is it true?
The fact they could even bring themselves to ask that question meant I had seriously damaged House Taw’s reputation. They never would have even considered it in the past.
“But even now, it is not too late,” S’lec-Quos said. “You may repent your sins and live out the rest of your days in comfort. Changelings are merciful. All you need do is kiss my staff and mercy will be granted.”
I raised my eyes and looked out over the crowd.
In their eyes, I saw the hatred burning like hot coals. It was there and it was more than I could bear…
Except, their anger wasn’t aimed at me.
It was aimed at the Changelings that shared the stage with me.
Their eyes followed the staff with the menacing blade. Those at the front of the crowd coiled their legs to spring forward at the first sign it might fall.
And then I noticed what they were wearing.
Their traditional battle armor.
They didn’t come here to be slaughtered. They came there to fight and be free.
They were ready.
They were born ready.
And if Qale was right about them, he could also be right about knowing this was the perfect moment to attack. While the Changelings were fat and nestled at the Titan empire’s teat.
This was when we would defeat our conquerors.
They had made the grievous mistake of facing us on our soil.
I glanced up at the huge frigate that perched above the town, faded and misty with distance. Its guns were trained on the gathered townsfolk. And again, I felt that trickle of fear that I might be allowing the death of countless Titans.
“They are ready,” Qale had said. “You’re never completely ready. You have to act when you’re ready enough.”
I suppose sometimes you just had to trust the feelings deep in your heart.
The Changelings were afraid. That was why they put on this spectacle, why they broadcast my confession across the entire empire.
Because they feared losing their grip on power.
Because they knew it was a very real fear, one worth having when it came to conquering the Titan empire.
The Changelings could be beaten.
They claimed they were unbeatable but they were anything but.
I got to my feet slowly, the Changeling guards stiffening on either side, blasters aimed at my chest.
S’lec-Quos raised a foot to hold them in place and not to fire. He expected me to confess.
The guards relaxed. A little.
“My fellow Titans,” I said. “I am Kal, second son of House Taw. I consider myself honored to be not only a Titan but a member of one of the most revered families in the empire. A few weeks ago, we were attacked without warning by the Changeling army. As befits their reputation, they attacked aggressively and without mercy. They killed my elder brother who was racing to the front lines with much-needed reinforcements.”
So far, so good. I hadn’t triggered any tripwires. If I had, the lights on the holographic generators wo
uld have flicked off already.
I needed to make sure I said what I needed to say before they cut me off.
I needed to say it but the words lodged in my throat.
There was movement in the otherwise still crowd. It caught my attention. My eyes flicked over to it.
And that’s when I saw her.
The most beautiful vision possible.
“She will return to you,” Qale had said.
I never believed him. I thought I would never see her again. During my lowest ebb in the holding cell, I’d even tried to convince myself I never wanted to see her again.
Now I realized the absurdity of attempting such a thing.
There was no forgetting this woman.
She was part of me now. We had joined and would be together forever.
She wore a small smile on her face, peering out from beneath a wide hood to disguise her features.
That’s when I realized how I could say everything I needed without any risk they might cut me off before I finished, how I could tell every Titan from here to the distant asteroid of Wythnos what to do, and take any Changeling around them by surprise.
I raised my hand and peered at it. I clenched the fingers into a fist and then, eyes flicking up to the nearest holographic generator, slammed it to my chest.
A thousand thumps followed my own as the Titans present mirrored the action.
You are part of me, as I am part of you.
Peering into one of the tiny cameras, I imagined a hundred billion Titans repeating the gesture back to me.
“Listen to your heart,” I said. “You know what to do.”
And there, high on the mountainside, the beacon burst into flames and a bright blast of light speared the sky.
It must have been Emana or Qale who lit it. I could make out a small figure waving but it was impossible to make out who it was.
And there, in the far distance, barely visible behind the huge war frigate, another column of light burst into the sky, tearing through the clouds.
“What’s going on here? What’s happening?” S’lec-Quos said.
“It’s the beacon!” Zes said. “Someone has lit it! Your outposts will be under siege! You must issue the order to attack!”
The Titans tore their cloaks aside, revealing a miasma of weapons and twisted blades. They roared as they launched themselves at the surrounding guards.
The frigate immediately opened fire, burning the local Titans from existence with a single touch of its powerful death ray.
But we weren’t defenseless.
“They are ready,” Qale had said.
The rooves of two dozen townhouses shifted back and aside as huge cannons concealed inside opened fire, blasting at the frigate’s undercarriage and tearing holes in it.
I seriously needed to alter my town model, I thought.
“Look out!”
Zes rushed toward me with his blade drawn, mouth open, and screaming bloody death.
I dived to one side.
A bolt from a Changeling guard’s pistol singed the soil two inches from my hand. I rolled in the opposite direction, into Zes’s path.
He was on me again.
He pulled his arm back to stab me.
I froze.
Zes’s smile was small and cruel. We both knew he had the killing blow.
“Zeeeaarrghhh!”
Qale screeched as he leaped on Zes’s back, wrapped his arm around his neck, and pulled tight. He added his bodyweight to Zes’s and brought him to the ground.
No one could stand against Qale in a fight.
Not even our trainer.
But Qale was having a harder time than usual due to his injuries. I joined in the fray and together, we took him down.
Guards marched around the corner and joined the heated battle. I ordered four to drag Zes down to the cells.
He kicked and screamed.
“No! I’m meant to be the lord! Me!” he cried.
Within minutes, the town was on fire but the Changeling guards surrendered. They too were carted off to the cells under the castle.
The local Titans saluted me with a fist to their chests and a respectful nod of their heads. I returned it to them.
“I should go,” Qale said.
“You should stay,” I said. “You are the rightful Lord of Taw.”
Qale braced my shoulders.
“No, little brother,” he said. “You proved it should be you that leads the family now. I would only lose my temper and commit us to more pointless wars.”
We shared a smile and embraced. I doubted that, not with his new outlook on life, but it was clear from his expression he had no intention of taking up the position again.
“My love waits for me in the forest,” he said. “Every moment away from her is a dagger in my heart.”
I snorted. “Since when did you become a poet?”
“When I met my lady love,” he said.
And, dammit, didn’t I understand exactly what he meant?
He drifted away, moving through the crowd, not one of them knowing their true Lord of Taw walked among them. He tipped his hat at Sirena as she approached.
“You owe me a favor,” she said.
I ravished her with my eyes, exploring every inch of her delicate frame. It was all I could do to keep my hands off her.
“And how do you figure I’m the one that owes you a favor?” I said.
We drifted closer.
“I shouted, ‘Look out!’” she said.
“But you didn’t fight for me the way Qale did,” I said.
Now we were so close I could feel her breath on my chin.
“A girl doesn’t want to ruin her nails,” she said.
I grinned like a fool.
“Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes,” I said.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and we kissed, deeply, passionately. I had to touch and feel her, make sure it was her and not an apparition.
“I thought you had to head home?” I said.
“I was,” she said. “Then they tried to kill me and… it doesn’t matter. Listen, I need to explain what happened. They abducted me and turned me into a slave. They said that if I did what they asked, they would let me and my friends go home—”
I pressed a finger to her lips.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I understand. Sometimes we have to make a decision we later regret. But if we’re very lucky, we can overturn it.”
“Like you did today,” Sirena said.
She nodded to the Titans rounding up the last of the Changelings.
“I thought you didn’t approve of rebellions and wars?” I said.
“I didn’t,” Sirena said. “But sometimes it’s necessary to take action for the things you want.”
We kissed again and I felt her not only on my lips but in my heart and soul. She would reside there forever.
“I want you to know something too,” I said. “Any time you want to go home, tell me, and I’ll arrange a ship for you.”
“Maybe I will return,” she said. “One day. Right now, I think I’ll hang around here for a while.”
I grinned.
“I was hoping you might,” I said.
I kissed her on the forehead.
“There you are,” Emana said, sidling up to Sirena. “We’ve got unfinished business.”
Sirena turned white as a ghost before raising her arm to Emana, who took it in her hands.
“What’s going on?” I said.
“She has to break my arm, like the Titan custom,” Sirena said.
I arched an eyebrow at Emana, who grinned.
“Okay,” she said. “Here we go…”
Snap.
Sirena howled for a full three seconds before she realized her arm didn’t hurt. She opened her eyes and peered between the two of us.
“What’s going on?” she said.
Emana laughed and slapped her knee.
“You believed Titans snap each other’s arms to demand an apo
logy!” she said, and wiped the tears out of her eyes. “Oh, that is good. That is really, really good.”
Sirena folded her arms.
“Well, how was I supposed to know?” she said. “You guys do heal faster than normal.”
“That doesn’t mean we like pain!” Emana said, leaving to go tell Aunzika about her gag.
“I told you,” I said to Sirena, “you get used to her.”
“Sir?” a local Titan said. “We found these Changelings trying to pass themselves off as Titan locals.”
A group of Titans dragged an unwilling trio of Changelings before me. They had not practiced mimicking us and their work was sloppy. Their noses were droopy and long, their ears even worse. They looked like bread taken out of the oven too early.
The first Changeling morphed into his original shape. It was a helper. He dropped to his knees and extended his hands to me pathetically. The second Changeling did the same.
“So, you must be S’lec-Quos,” I said to the final melted Titan. “Show yourself. We won’t hurt you.”
The last Changeling morphed into another helper. It fooled me for a moment… until I realized he was a duplicate of the first helper. He looked at me coyly before shutting his eyes and assuming his original form.
“What are you going to do with us?” S’lec-Quos said. “Don’t forget, we were very merciful with you. We could have killed you at any time—”
“You were going to kill me!” I barked.
The Changelings whimpered and backed away. They weren’t so tough when they didn’t have their guards and war frigate to back them up.
“Take them to the cells,” I said. “I’ll decide what to do with them later.”
The Changelings struggled but they were no match for their Titan captors.
“Look,” Sirena said.
She motioned to something on the fringes of the forest. A figure I knew very well waved an arm back at me. It was Qale. The rightful heir to the castle.
A Titan female stood at his side with her arms wrapped around him. Qale kissed her on the top of the head and smiled as he led her into the forest.
I could understand why he wanted to leave the mantel behind. I was inclined to do the same thing, but now that I wasn’t quite so hated by my people, I thought I could do pretty well as a lord.
“When are you going to tell Emana her eldest brother is still alive?” Sirena said.