by Simon Archer
“That is enough,” King Atlus announced, silencing the jitters from his council. “We will address this as we have every other infection.”
“Has Lord Anthony healed it?” Mister Moorly asked. “If so, it should no longer be a problem and have no chance of spreading.”
“However, if it is within the castle walls, there must be a source to it,” Madame Sachen countered. “Have we eradicated the source?”
“Do we even know the source?” Mister Gayong added. “I know that has been the largest issue for the guards.”
The jab hit its mark, and I leaned forward on the table, ready to fire back at him. However, a swift kick to my shin under the table distracted me. I shifted my gaze to Rebekah, knowing it was her warning. The captain remained flat-faced and impassive.
“That has caused us some difficulty. However, we have managed to find the source of numerous corruption sites,” Rebekah responded to Mister Gayong’s open insult diplomatically, which was more than I was going to be able to do. I still wanted to launch across the table and threaten the Minister to do better from his cushy chambers.
“All of these are valid questions and concerns,” the king interrupted, addressing all the Ministers in one sentence. “Martin was able to heal the corruption.”
A sigh of relief came from the Minister of Health, and he sat back in his chair. “Well done, boy,” he complimented.
In direct contrast with Mister Moorly’s reaction, I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I caught Martin’s eye. I was thoroughly confused with how he had managed to heal anyone if he was supposed to be meeting Hennar at each infected person as he promised. Had Martin actually managed to beat the false king at a second game of chess?
Martin shook her head so slightly that if you hadn’t been looking, you would have missed it. Luckily, I held his eye contact and hardened my gaze. He was not going to get away from me without an explanation, though I realized it would not necessarily be right now in this space.
“He also was able to guarantee us some time before the next infection,” King Atlus added, looking at random Ministers in turn.
“And how, pray tell, did he manage to do that?” Mister Gayong directed this question at Martin. He cocked his head mockingly, portraying a clearly false interest in his answer. “Are you able to predict them now?”
“No,” Martin said cautiously. “I spoke with King Hennar.”
Martin only called our enemy king to annoy the council. I tried to tell him to back off, but it was such a petty insult, he could not help himself. A visible shudder ripple around the room at the improper title put before Hennar’s name. Martin did not move an inch.
“You spoke with him?” Mister Gayong leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers. “How interesting. I did not know you were in communication with him. As Minister of External Affairs, that would be something I believe I should know about.”
“I’m telling you now, aren’t I?” Martin argued, not taking any of his sly insults. “And we all know what you do, Jack, you don’t need to constantly remind us.”
“Martin,” Madame Vike interjected sharply. “How did you speak with Hennar?”
“It happens sometimes,” Martin said, never breaking eye contact with Mister Gayong.
“It has happened more than once?” Mister Gayong’s bushy eyebrows rose in mock surprise. “Sire, I would advise caution against trusting Lord Anthony if he is in such frequent contact with the enemy.”
Martin rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He crossed his arms, clearly fed up. “Not this again. What’s it going to take to get you guys to trust me?”
“You are the one who keeps giving us reasons not to,” Mister Gayong argued. “Being the only one to speak with Hennar is quite a feat. And let me guess, no one was witness to this conversation?”
“Not exactly,” Martin said through gritted teeth.
Mister Gayong stood and held out a straight arm, pointing directly at Martin. “See, sire? These actions are treasonous.”
“He has done much to heal and help the kingdom,” Mister Moorly said, rushing to Martin’s defense. “As the Minister of Health, I have seen first-hand what he can do and has done for our people.”
“And our land,” Madame Poulis added.
“Yes, absolutely,” Madame Sachen emphasized. “The crops in Remklat, since he healed it, have flourished.”
Mister Gayong shook his head. “It is not enough, I am afraid.”
Martin suddenly rose to his feet and made his way to the door.
The king looked at her in alarm. “Martin? What is wrong?”
“I’m not going to stick around for this bullshit,” Martin said. “Because that’s all it is. I came here to tell you that the corruption is at your doorstep, and I managed to buy us some time to figure out where it is and who put it there. I didn’t come here to be accused of being a traitor. Again.”
“Martin, please, not everyone thinks that,” Madame Sachen pleaded. “Rejoin us.”
“I think I’m good,” Martin said, his nose raising like he had smelled something foul. “You all let me know when you actually want my help, and then we’ll see if I’ll be willing to give it. You know where to find me.”
With that dramatic proclamation, Martin left the room, slamming the door behind him.
The council room fell silent for a moment. King Atlus hung his head over the table. I looked at him from across the room, and disappointment filled my stomach. My king had trouble standing up to his own people. If he had defended Martin there, he would not have left. Instead, he let Mister Gayong insult him and berate him. His silence said more than he thought.
“You all are fools,” I said, speaking to the room at large.
This accusation caught the king’s attention. His head snapped up, and he looked at me directly, as if seeing me in the room for the first time.
“With all that he has done for you, for us, and you just let him walk out the door.” I pointed to the door for added emphasis and scoffed.
“We tried to defend him,” Madame Poulis said. “However, the boy must make his own choices.”
“Indeed, young girl,” Madame Ella said, not even dignifying me with the use of my proper name. “He chose to walk out over a couple of touchy words. Perhaps he cannot handle this as well as he thought.”
“He can handle it just fine,” I argued, defensiveness over Martin simmering below my skin.
“Then he needs to start showing it,” Mister Gayong challenged.
I paused, considering his words. An idea formed, slow and delicate, in the front of my mind. It grew like a blooming flower and opened up an interesting possibility.
“How much are you willing to bet that he can?” I threw back at the Minister of External Affairs with a glint in my eye and a smile on my lips.
11
“You should have seen them!” I cried, my voice blasting throughout the cave. “It was such a shitshow. Nothing was going to get done, I just knew it. The king dropped this huge bomb about the corruption being literally on their doorstep, and you’d think that they’d been concerned about that.”
I continued to pace madly about as I ranted. “But no! Instead, they choose to gripe about the fact that I spoke to Hennar, which I knew was going to be a big deal, but Atlus said it would be fine. We wouldn’t tell them about the traitor, but we would tell them about Hennar because that was important!”
With a big huff, I stopped and looked over at Zander, Bailey-Sue’s bat Merkin, here in the cave within the Zoo. It was one of my favorite parts of the animal enclosure. Not only was it a beautiful purple-gray color, but the thing stretched and curved about, giving me the perfect place to expel my secrets and frustrations. Something was comforting about shouting in complete blackness. It felt safe and cathartic. The chorus of my irritation echoed off the walls and seemed to carry my annoyance away with each iteration.
Many of the nocturnal creatures resided here, and it was Bailey-Sue’s favorite s
pot too. Mainly because her gift was the ability to see in the dark, and the cave was the darkest place in the court.
Zander flitted about excitedly. The little mammal was the ideal companion to listen to your rants. He was overly sympathetic to my plight, even when he didn’t fully understand them. I especially liked it when he threatened to beat up someone on my behalf, which would be a sight considering his size. Zander was the runt of the litter, as told to me by Bailey-Sue, and his whole demeanor was way more on the adorable side of the scale than menacing.
He was doing it now, as I raved in the dark to Bailey-Sue and Zander. “I get why you would not tell them about the traitor, but why did you have to tell them about Hennar too? It seems ridiculous!”
“Exactly!” I agreed. “That stupid Jack Gayong--”
“Oh, I hate that guy,” Zander said with a sassy undertone. He complimented the sentiment with a click of his tongue, full of disapproval.
“He’s such a dick,” I lamented, “but that’s not the point. The main thing was that they didn’t even seem to care that the corruption was here. I literally treated it just this morning, which means it somehow got beyond their precious wall.”
“Did they even thank you for curing that bout of corruption?” Zander asked.
“That’s just it! They didn’t!” I threw my hands in the air and slapped them down against my thighs with a satisfying thunk. “Well, Mister Moorly did, but I think he’s just finally happy that he doesn’t have to deal with the greatest health crisis this kingdom has ever seen anymore.”
“They all should have been singing your praises!” Zander declared. I could feel a whoosh of air as he dashed about my head in passionate circles. “They should have showered you with gold, thrown a holiday in your honor!”
“I don’t know about that,” I said, feeling sheepish at Zander’s outlandish declarations. “I just wish they would have acknowledged what I did for them, you know? I wish they wouldn’t keep jumping down my throat with every move I make.”
I sat down on a rock, the emboldened anger deflating. “I don’t know what more I can do to make them trust me.”
“They should already trust you!” Zander said, still buzzing up in the air. “I still think they should give you a holiday. Maybe a parade!”
“Zander,” Bailey-Sue said gently. “That is enough for now.”
The bat huffed and flew to a nook near the top of the cave. “Well, you know I think you are great, Martin. It is a shame that they do not see it too.”
“Thanks, Zander,” I said with a half-smile.
“Are you done shouting now?” Bailey-Sue asked from her spot across from me. While I couldn’t see her, I knew she hadn’t moved since I first dragged her to the cave, needing a moment to lament.
“I think so,” I answered.
Bailey-Sue struck a match, the hiss quiet enough not to echo throughout the cave. From the little light it shed, I could see her round nose and burst of red hair. Her violet eyes looked bloody in the firelight. She quickly lit the branches between us to strike up a reasonable campfire.
It took my eyes a second to adjust from the freeing darkness to be able to see my friend sitting before me. She was knitting with obnoxious orange yarn. Vanna had taught Bailey-Sue recently, and she wasn’t very good yet, still trying to get the hang of the hand motions.
Not-so-gently, she dropped the whole contraption in her lap and gave up. With a deep inhale, Bailey-Sue looked at me.
“I do not think you are going to like what I have to say next,” Bailey-Sue said.
“You don’t have to say it,” I joked though I knew it was probably one of those things where I needed to hear it.
“I think I do,” Bailey-Sue said, with squinted eyes, like she was afraid of hurting me.
I closed my own eyes and squished my face dramatically. “Alright, go ahead. Lay it on me.”
Bailey-Sue took a big breath in and then let it out with a slow huff. “You have to make nice with the council.”
“Why?” I huffed, annoyed at the prospect of making nice with a bunch of pompous nobles.
“Because you need them,” Bailey-Sue reasoned. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. “You cannot have King Atlus feeling threatened and banishing you from the kingdom.”
“He wouldn’t do that. Not again,” I said assuredly. Bailey-Sue cocked her head and gave me a look that injected doubt into the center of my brain. “Right?”
“Do not give him a reason to,” Bailey-Sue suggested. “You need to be open and honest with the council. Tell them everything when it happens.”
“Except the traitor, I’m not telling them about that,” I said definitively.
Bailey-Sue held out her hands as if to keep me from getting riled up again physically. “That is probably a good idea. But you cannot afford to get exiled. You will not be able to help anyone if you are running from the guard.”
“Right, right,” I recited like a mantra.
“It is not only about you either,” Bailey-Sue continued. “You have to think about the dragons.”
“The clan,” I whispered, a pang going off in my gut at the mere thought of them. “What about them?”
“They are safe right now, within the castle walls,” Bailey-Sue said. “If you leave, they will have to leave with you and risk getting killed by Hennar as he killed the other dragons. Or you will have to separate yourself from them, and I do not think your bond could take that.”
“I couldn’t leave Ffamran,” I said without thinking.
“These are all things you need to consider when you are fighting with them,” Bailey-Sue said, but I jumped in before she could complete the thought.
“They started it!” I said indignantly. Bailey-Sue shot me another look, and I crumpled under her gaze. “Right, sorry. That’s not important.”
“No, it is not,” she said. “What is important is Insomier and like it or not, these are the people in charge of Insomier.”
“You are right,” I admitted softly.
“I am sorry.” Bailey-Sue pressed a finger behind her ear. “What was that?”
“You heard me,” I joshed, knocking her hand away from her ear. Bailey-Sue’s laughter rang out throughout the rocks. “They don’t make it easy, though.”
“No, they do not,” Bailey-Sue sympathized. “Most of them are a bunch of elitist assholes.”
“See what I mean?” I stuck out my hand, exasperated. “How am I supposed to make nice with them? Sometimes it’s like we don’t even speak the same language?”
“Well, you better start learning it,” Bailey-Sue countered, “especially if you expect to find the traitor.”
“Don’t remind me,” I groaned. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“You can check at least six people off your list.” Bailey-Sue held out her fingers and ticked off each name. “You, me, Alona, Diana, Rebekah, and King Atlus.”
“I’m not even sure about the king,” I said with a weak eye roll.
Bailey-Sue’s face dropped skeptically. “I seriously doubt the king is corrupting his own kingdom. Especially after his own father worked so hard to keep the crown from Hennar.”
“What’s the deal with that, anyway?” I asked. “Is that why Atlus is so power hungry?”
“I do not know the full story,” Bailey-Sue said as she picked at the yarn in her lap. “I do know that the whole reason Hennar went crazy and started attacking the kingdom was that King Pollet refused to give him the crown.”
“Makes sense,” I said. “Well, in a storybook king of sense. Jealousy can be a huge motivator.”
“It was that and tradition,” Bailey-Sue explained. “Hennar thought that because he bonded with a dragon, he had the right to be king, just as King Garham had before him, but because Hennar was not born into the royal line, King Pollet and the council denied him.”
I mused on Bailey-Sue’s words for a minute. It was nice to get some context to this whole conflict. Most people were tight-lipped ab
out the whole thing like it was some embarrassing kingdom secret, a dirty piece of laundry no one wanted to air. That fact alone made me want to tear this court apart in a search for the answer. Then I could wave it back in their faces and maybe knock them down a peg. Or five.
“Martin!”
My name echoed throughout the cave, and I rose to my feet in response. Bailey-Sue simply looked over her shoulder.
“Alona probably wants us to come back and actually work now,” Bailey-Sue said with a shrug. “Come on. You have had your rant.”
“Martin!”
My name rang out again, but this time it came from a different voice. More than one set of footsteps bounced off the cave walls.
“That’s Rebekah,” Bailey-Sue confirmed the second voice.
“Slow down, you two!”
“I don’t think Alona and Rebekah are alone,” I said, recognizing the third voice.
My heart leapt into my throat and raced to a thousand beats a minute at the prospect of seeing her. Outright defiance squashed my heart back into place and forced it to slow down. Our relationship… could I even call it that?... was nothing to blush about. We purposely kept it that way, and I wanted nothing to do with her in public. Things were dicey enough as it was, and I didn’t need to add more problems to my life, like a romantic relationship. Sex worked just fine for now.
Still, as she ventured down the cave and into the light, my heart skipped a beat. Just one, but it was just enough to be annoying.
Alona, Rebekah, and Diana approached the fire. They walked side by side, tapering their footing so as not to run too fast down the sloping path.
Alona had to duck a little so that the top of her head just grazed the ceiling of the cave. Her hair, curly and chestnut-colored, was always pulled back into a loose ponytail. It was a signature look that included her round, gold-rimmed eyeglasses that she perpetually pushed up the bridge of her nose.