He followed Balach out of the clearing and down a street that soon turned into a finely constructed stone road, winding its way through a less crowded section of the city. Homes were spaced farther apart than those he had seen on the way in, and he felt like he was strolling through a peaceful neighborhood. As they continued along, he looked over his shoulder and saw only the two guards.
As they continued on, Balach pointed out the royal quarters built into the wall of the mountain. The entire structure was carved with the same precision as the stone gate that he had seen earlier. As he looked at the stony façade of the royal house, he could only imagine its true immensity and how far back its tunneled passageways and rooms must continue.
Balach raised his chin proudly.
“My family lives in the royal section of the city, because my father is Captain of the Queen’s elite Fianna guard.”
Merrick nodded but remained silent. After a few moments, Balach looked up at him again and slowed his pace to a stroll.
“You live outside of the mountain. What’s that like?”
“I’m not really sure yet,” he said. “From what I’ve seen, it’s pretty different—maybe more complex.”
“Complex, how?”
“It feels…simpler down here. Not as fast paced or hectic. Hard to tell yet, like I said, but I bet our traffic jams would drive you crazy.”
“Traffic jams?”
“They happen when lots of people try to get to the same place at the same time and there’s not enough room for everyone’s car to fit, so everything gets jammed up.”
“Oh.”
Merrick could tell that the boy wanted to ask more questions—probably about cars, but he remained silent as they moved along.
They turned a sharp corner in the road, and Merrick saw the same black haired girl holding the jar full of fireflies that he had seen on the road into the city. She was looking at them from behind a tree in the distance.
Merrick nudged Balach.
“Do you know who that is?”
Balach looked up just as the girl ducked out of sight.
“I don’t think so,” he said, unconvincingly.
Merrick shrugged and changed the topic.
“If that woman back there is your queen, then where’s your king?”
Balach stopped walking and turned to Merrick, his head cocked slightly as he looked up.
“Wasn’t it your father who sent you here?”
“My father’s dead. Ohman sent me.”
Balach looked at his feet and then back up at Merrick.
“Ohman was our king, the Ard Righ, before he was banished for breeding with one of the fire women.”
They walked another couple of steps.
“He’s also your father,” he said without missing a step.
#
When Merrick had first spotted Firefly hiding behind the tree, Balach had almost slipped up and blurted out her name. He loved her so deeply, that it was hard not to shout her name to the tops of the trees. He felt hungry and empty every second he was away from her, but he wished she would be more careful showing herself in public.
His love for her was the reason he had been able to remember his creation name so early in life. He swallowed hard, wondering if he had done the right thing by telling his father that he was ready for his naming ceremony at such a young age. He had been so sure last week, after meeting with Firefly in one of the city’s public forests, when they had proclaimed their love for each other. Now, as he watched her disappear behind the tree, he wondered if his feelings for her were true or if they were merely passion, masquerading as love.
Either way, his father had already told the Keepers that he was ready. His father’s pride had been obvious. Balach would have to trust that his memory of Terrada whispering his creation name in his ear was a true one. He would also have to believe the same about his love for Firefly.
If he doubted either of those two things and backed out now, his father would be embarrassed, and the Keepers would mark Balach as a liar or a fool or both.
He recalled the stories he had heard about those who had tried to claim false names to elevate their status in the clan. It was said that the Master Keeper and his followers possessed magic beyond anything taught in school. They could invoke the power of ancient names, from the beginning of time all the way up to the names of the council members of today. They knew every creation name that had ever been remembered by the followers of Terrada, since even before there was a separate Earth Clan. Only the Queen’s name and Ohman’s name remained hidden from them.
Balach’s fears vanished as he dreamed about having his creation name added to the clan’s lexicon. After making that ultimate contribution, he would be treated as a full member of the Earth Clan, and he would be given the rights that came with that status—including the right to take a wife.
He was sure that his parents would like Firefly, if they ever gave her a chance, but he wasn’t certain that would ever happen. They might be willing to accept how he had fallen in love at such a young age, but he was not sure that they would understand how their son had fallen in love with a girl from the Fire Tribe.
CHAPTER 15
THE COUNCIL MEMBERS stood at regular intervals around an oval table that took up most of the inner chamber. Two guards escorted the Queen to a wide high-backed wooden throne at the head of the oval. Cara stood at the opposite end of the oval, farther away from the Queen than any of the council members. She knew that a person’s importance or stature in the clan dictated how close they sat to the Queen. Fenton stood only two places down from the throne, his brows furrowed and his lips pursed as he stood at attention. When the Queen finally sat, the council members followed her lead, leaving only Cara with no chair.
The Queen motioned for her to sit. Before she could ask, the floor beneath her rose to form a stone seat. She reminded herself to be ready for anything—that she was in the home of the Earth Clan where Terrada’s children lived as one with their dragon.
She eased into the chair and sat down.
The silence reminded her of one of her own meetings at Rune Corp, although this time it was not she who was running the show. The Queen was in complete charge, and Cara was barely a tolerated guest.
“Now that we are out of the public eye,” the Queen said, “I assume Ohman is in some kind of trouble.”
Cara laughed, despite her nervousness.
“He’s managed to not get caught doing anything that the humans would disapprove of. We try to blend in with them as much as possible.”
“He has taught you of our ways?”
“I’ve been educated in the culture of our…of the clan, and I’ve learned some of Terrada’s tongue.”
The council grumbled at her last statement. The Queen silenced them with a wave of her hand.
“I can only hope you have learned temperament as well—a trait your father has never possessed.”
The Queen adjusted one of the ornate rings on her fingers before peering directly at Cara.
“I have always wondered whether or not Terrada gives creation names to half-bloods.”
She felt her face turning red and hoped that she had misheard the Queen’s words. Cara remembered the way she often looked down on Rune Corp’s human employees, and she realized now how they must feel.
“I have offended you. I ask whether you have been named only because you are not pure Drayoom. Unlike your half brother, Merrick, your mother was obviously a human.”
Cara stared at the Queen, trying to make sense of what she had just heard. Once again, the room was silent.
The Queen tilted her head and slowly nodded.
“I see,” she said. “Some things do not change. It would appear that your father has not told you of his sins against the Earth Clan and against me. Not only did he commit adultery, but he also broke the most sacred of our laws by breeding with a woman from another Drayoom family. Did he tell you that, child?”
The Queen smoothed her robe and
took a deep breath before continuing.
“I am certain that he did not—just as he did not tell you that his union with that woman resulted in the aberrations known as Merrick and Eudroch. Your father, Ohman, is the very reason this world is in jeopardy.”
The Queen’s face softened barely as she saw the effect her story was having on Cara.
“Did you even know your real mother?”
Cara was still trying to process what the Queen had said about Merrick and Eudroch being her half brothers. Her mouth opened on its own without her thinking through what she was about to say.
“My mother died of cancer when I was only twelve, but I have wonderful memories of her.”
Cara furrowed her eyebrows.
“Did you say that Merrick and Eudroch are my brothers?”
“It seems odd to me that your mother died of cancer,” the Queen said, ignoring Cara’s question. “Especially since the great Ohman knows very well the words to stop the growth of abhorrent cells. He was quite the healer before he became my king, you know.”
It was too much for Cara to comprehend. She might be able to believe that her father was also Merrick and Eudroch’s father, but she knew that her father had loved her mother and would never have let her die if he could have stopped it. Putting aside her growing confusion and straining to hold back tears, Cara tried to focus on her mission.
“Are we here to discuss the sins of my father or to decide what to do about Merrick?”
The Queen seemed taken aback by Cara’s abrupt change of topic. She shook her head and closed her eyes, a slight smile crossing her wizened face.
“I have no love for the banished one,” one of the men sitting at the table said, “but the girl is right. We have bigger things to worry about now.”
He was a short, stocky man with thick copper hair and a full beard. His fine court clothes did little to hide the scars on his arms or his thick hands that told Cara he was, or at least had been, a warrior.
“Please begin the discussion then Arindor, since you feel so passionately about the topic,” the Queen said.
Arindor cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed for speaking out of turn and for now being the center of the Queen’s attention.
His voice came out much softer and controlled when next he spoke.
“Your Majesty, we all know of Ohman’s true nature. And we have always known that we would have to deal with his actions one day. Today is that day. We know that Eudroch was raised by the Fire Tribe after Ohman, his own father, left him to die. We know about the prophecy. But until today, we were never sure whether Eudroch’s brother was still alive. And now Merrick sits in our very own house. Eudroch may be evil, but Merrick is the real danger to our clan and to the rest of the world. Eudroch is not strong enough to fulfill the prophecy without his brother. As much as it pains me, Your Majesty, I see no other choice but for Merrick to die, while such a thing is even possible.”
A murmur arose from the council. Cara heard grunts of both agreement and disapproval.
“The boy can’t stay here, but we can’t let him go either,” said another of the council members, this one a shriveled, old man with a bald head covered with black tattoos of intricate knot designs.
A middle-aged man with prematurely white hair wore a silk robe and gold jewelry and spoke up next. Cara figured him for a full-time politician and disliked him immediately.
“I agree with Arindor and Tailesan,” the man said. “Merrick doesn’t belong anywhere on our world, least of all here. We should stop this now and be done with it. No good can come from there being even a remote chance that the brothers join their magic.”
Several of the council members hit the table with their open palms, signaling agreement.
“Enoch misrepresents my words,” Tailesan said. “I do not agree that we should kill the boy, only that he cannot stay here, nor can he be left to his own devices without guidance. The danger from the prophecy is clear, but the exact path that might save us is not.”
“For all we know,” Fenton joined in, “Eudroch might be powerful enough once Merrick is dead, to fulfill the prophecy on his own. If he is, Merrick may be our only chance of stopping him.”
“If Eudroch could bring about the prophecy on his own, then why has he not done so already?” Enoch said, leaning forward over the table, looking around at the other members of the Earth Council. “Why are we not already burning in flames, being punished for following Terrada instead of Sigela?”
The table grew silent. Even Fenton was thinking about what Enoch had said. Cara, herself, could see the logic in his words. They made sense, but they didn’t address the entire picture, something her father had taught her to do since childhood.
“If I may speak, Your Majesty,” Cara said.
The Queen nodded reluctantly and Cara stood up. If she were going to win this argument, she was going to do it her way, just like she would if she were back at Rune Corp. She walked slowly around the table so that the council members would have to work to keep their eyes on her.
“Enoch’s words are logical, and it is hard to find fault with them.”
Enoch smiled warily.
“I said it was hard to find fault with them. Not impossible.”
Cara stopped walking and scanned the faces of the council members, ending on that of the Queen’s.
“What if you kill Merrick and his magic finds its way to Eudroch on its own?”
Heads turned back and forth, each member of the council noting the reactions of the others.
“Can any of you say that it won’t? We all know that magic is neither created nor destroyed, so unless you have a plan to contain Merrick’s magic after his death, you can’t let him die. I understand why you don’t trust me, but I can assure you of Merrick’s good intentions. You will not have to worry about an attack from him. This is your one chance to train him in your ways—teach him how to use and channel his power. Cultivate him like he may be your last hope, because he just might be. Protect him and make sure that his brother doesn’t steal his power. Eudroch isn’t strong enough to attack the city of the Earth Clan on his own, and the Fire Tribe would not risk the start of a war.”
She continued around the table and returned to her chair. She sat down and fought the urge to smile, pleased with her own performance but also anxious like a trickster who has just run out of tricks.
Enoch was speechless, as were the other members of the council. Cara thought she saw an approving glance from Fenton, but other than that, no one showed any emotions. One by one, they nervously looked to the Queen.
The Queen stared at the tabletop, rubbing the tips of her fingers across its surface.
Cara reminded herself to breathe.
Suddenly, the guard at the Queen’s left spoke up.
“Your Majesty, I know it’s not my place, but the girl makes sense. I think…”
Everyone at the table turned to look at the guard who suddenly appeared to be thinking better of what he had just said. The Queen looked at him as if in shock, like she had discovered a wooden post had suddenly gained the power of speech.
The Queen turned to Fenton--his face red and his eyes brimming with anger.
“As the Commander of my Fianna, you will kindly remind your subordinate of his place after we are through here. He only stands in this room as part of my guard, not to think, and certainly not to speak. I will excuse his outburst only this once, but I expect appropriate disciplinary action to be taken.”
Fenton looked at the sweating guard.
“Rest assured, I will take care of the matter, my Queen.”
Cara thought she could hear the guard swallow, but to his credit, he remained perfectly still, staring straight ahead as if nothing had transpired.
The Queen turned back to the council.
“Even this wretch of a guard can see the truth in her words. I know that she speaks them only to save her brother, but I have changed my mind and believe that keeping Merrick here with us for the ti
me being is best for the clan. So it shall be.”
Most of the council thumped the table in hesitant agreement, Fenton hitting it the hardest. Even Enoch tapped the table as a show of respect for the Queen’s decision.
Cara let out a breath that she had not been aware she had been holding.
“Fenton will arrange accommodations for you and your brother,” the Queen said. “I suggest that Fenton also be responsible for the boy’s tutelage as long as he is in our care and for yours as well.”
Cara stood up timidly, her head bowed in respect.
“With all respect, my Queen,” she said. “I must return to my father to help him prepare for Eudroch. We believe that he may discover our home in the human world soon. Perhaps we can stop him there.”
The Queen appeared as if she was looking well past Cara, her eyes defocused as if reliving a scene from her memories.
“You may leave and will be allowed entrance here again. As for your father…tell him that I and his clan are better off without him.”
The Queen’s face remained stolid. She stood, and the council members rose from their chairs as one. The Queen exited through a hidden door in the back of the room, while the others broke into quiet chatter as they left.
As Cara made her way over to Fenton to ask where she could find Merrick, the guard who had spoken out of line stepped next to her and bowed his head low.
“Many of us have never believed in your father’s guilt,” he whispered. “He’s a good man and still my king and the clan’s Ard Righ.”
Fenton approached, and the guard snapped to attention.
“Wait for me back at the barracks, Gerald,” Fenton said.
The guard marched out of the room, leaving Cara and Fenton alone.
“I’ll take you to see your brother,” he said, “and then you can be on your way if you like or you’re welcome to stay in our home as you see fit.”
She absently nodded, but she couldn’t get used to everyone suddenly referring to Merrick as her brother. She could accept that her father had once been the Ard Righ, despite her incredulity that he had once been married to the Queen. But Merrick and Eudroch as her brothers was more than she could believe at the moment. The implications were too far-reaching—least of which was the fact that the man with whom she was falling in love was no longer an option for her—at least not in the human world.
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