“Definitely.”
“Okay,” she grins, moving for the tunnel. “I’ll see you soon.”
Chapter Eight: Interrogation
I reach the Docking Station and find Mimi, the giant Stancimis, already in the center pool. We’re alone, which is what I want, since I’ve needed a moment from the encounter earlier, when Reid almost kissed me. I haven’t had time to process it—the hungry look in his eye, the need in his mouth as he leaned in for mine. My stomach contracts at the thought, heat blooming from somewhere deep inside. Flushing at the memory of his scent, I’m overwhelming myself when footsteps sound down the tunnel.
Must be Princess Ariana.
Except it’s not.
Qippert arrives in his human form, moving steadily for me with his hands cupped at the small of his back. He pauses a few feet away. “I heard you took the Millix back.”
I nod.
“And?”
I shrug, “It went fine. But we’re taking Mimi to interrogate Perio.”
“You do not plan on saying much, do you?” he steps closer, his face hardening. “You must understand that Queen Ravan has only agreed to this because she knows what the princess says is true. Perio will not talk with her guards or any of the other humans present. It is mostly a comfort to the princess to have you there. The prison is quite impenetrable, so there is no way he will be able to escape,” Qippert eyes me warily, “unless you help him.”
“Why would I…”
“Not on purpose, of course. No one would expect that from someone of your character,” Qippert strolls around Mimi. “Perio is a mastermind; an extreme genius fighting for the wrong cause. Any information you give him, any little detail and he will use it against you. Your best weapon is silence. Your best attack is to stick to the shadows and hope he does not see you.”
“He’s not blind. He’ll know I’m there.”
“Yes, but he is more likely to disregard you as an ignorant creature of lesser worth. Do not give him a reason to think otherwise.”
“If he’s so dangerous, why’d the queen submit to letting the princess go?”
“Because Princess Ariana is right. We need to know what he knows, what additional dangers he could possess should he escape…”
“But you just said—”
“Things happen every day we do not intend or expect, things we do not predict or plan for. We are told the prison is impenetrable. Does that mean there is no possible way to escape? Or just that no one has done it yet? You must remember the danger Perio presents. The only hope, the only tool we have against him…”
“…is his love for the princess.”
“He will never harm her—of this I am certain.”
“How do you know?”
“The entire kingdom is aware. It is a fact he does not keep quiet about, a fact he has ensured every miyon knows,” Qippert sighs. “He and the princess are to be married.”
“Are they?”
Qippert inhales, strolling towards Mimi’s face, offering a tiny shrug. “Perio believes so. They were engaged at one point, but it did not work. Once his radical allegiance and utter detest for everything outside this World became apparent, the princess called off the engagement.”
“How long ago?”
“Maybe a year.”
“And he still believes they’ll get married?”
“He believes she is his. He will never change this belief, and with his severe reputation, no suitor will come within feet of her.”
I stop and consider what Qippert is saying. If Perio is bent on keeping the princess for himself while driving away all others, her only option will be him. That, or be alone forever. My heart suddenly breaks anew for Ariana. How lonely she must be, how trapped she must feel to have no one to hold her or love her. No one to tell her she’s beautiful while making her feel it with just a look. If Perio is scaring all other suitors away, this is the life she’ll lead forever. This, or be forced back into his insanely dangerous arms.
“How do you know all this?” I narrow my eyes. “You couldn’t have possibly learned it all in the time you were here with Blovid.”
“No,” he shakes his head, “certainly not. He sent me ahead to secure his visit. When he heard from Sampson about what was happening on Harrizel, he knew he would eventually have to flee. But not all places are receptive to Arizals. Blovid had me travel here to inform the queen of the impending dangers should he need to leave. Sure enough, as soon as he alerted the other Leaders about the Vermix experiments, Reuzkimpart had anyone oppose him assassinated. Blovid fled before he could be killed.”
“How’d they know he came here?”
“They did not know. They hunted for him in Dellapalania first, expecting him to hide out somewhere relatively nearby.”
“When did they suspect Mybyncia?”
“Well,” Qippert sighs, “Reuzkimpart has multiple goals in mind, you see. As he was planning the next targets to seek Blovid, he had intentions to come here anyway, seeking something that could assist in his greater plan—something he would need to obtain. He put two and two together, figuring Mybyncia was as good a hideout as any—with their culture honoring the Way, they would accept him without reservation—and sent a massive attack on the Southern Waters, claiming solely to search for Blovid.”
“But they attacked the North.”
“Not as thoroughly as the South and he only truly penetrated the Northern Shore. Not the Northern waters.”
“Why not?”
“My mother is in the North,” a soft new voice joins the conversation. We both jump as Princess Ariana arrives, her voice gentle and sad. She approaches slowly, her eyes on Mimi. “Had he attacked her kingdom, he would have ignited war.”
“Aren’t we already at war?”
Qippert shakes his head. “Right now Dellapalania is a civil war about to spread to the other two Worlds. What Reuzkimpart did was merely chase down an escaped traitor—or so he is saying.”
“But what about the other thing? The…” I search my brain, trying to remember our arrival yesterday. “The Shadow Bag? Isn’t he after Mybyncia’s Gift?”
“He will never admit to it.” Qippert shakes his head. “To do so would enact war. Right now he is hiding behind his Vermix honor—performing what is best for Dellapalania.”
“Fallon,” Ariana turns to me, “it is best we get going. If we are to arrive timely to the feast, we must go now.”
Qippert cups my shoulder. “Remember what we talked about.”
Securing my headgear and Enidd, I climb onto Mimi. I grip the cratered handles of her gray back and position myself for the ride.
“Ready?” Ariana asks.
Glancing to Qippert, I hold his stare for as long as I can. He needs me to understand the peril of the situation. Finally, and without breaking our eye contact, I answer Ariana. “Yes, princess.”
“Mimi,” she strokes the patch of skin between her red eyes, “let us go.”
The Stancimis submerges, my view of Qippert disappearing as we soar from the Docking Station and around the far side of the city. We’re still nearby, but descending just beyond it, deep into the water’s dark depths. Mimi takes us down, down, until the lights from the thriving metropolis no longer illuminate. I can’t really see where we’re going or what’s ahead of us but suddenly, she slows, moving inward instead of lowering.
We’re here.
“This will be different,” Ariana says as Mimi moves closer to an ominous black structure ahead. “We will not be docking. We will have to swim through the tunnel to get inside. Follow me,” she lets go of Mimi and swims up toward a narrow dark entrance above.
I do the same. Kicking off from Mimi, I cup my hands into rounded shovel shapes and part the water above me, my Enidd latched to my back. It’s intensely dark—nearly black—so I could be moving straight for the rock and not even know it. But Ariana’s feet kick in front of me, creating a map of waves to follow. She disappears into the vertical tunnel and, trying to keep my pace to
a steady rhythm, I follow.
It’s narrower than I thought. Running my hands along the rocky walls, I can’t even fully extend my arms. Barely able to bend my elbows, the passage grips me with suffocation as the black water continues to blind me. It’s like being back in the labyrinth on Harrizel, traveling in complete darkness led by touch alone. Trying not to give into my pounding heart, I keep going, keep ascending through the confined dark water until the waves above stop.
She’s not over me anymore.
But where’d she go?
I brace my hands above me, ready to feel the top of the passage and when I do, new waves ripple toward me from the left. I follow them, swimming horizontally through the tightly enclosed space, this area more confined than the passage up. It’s still murky, all sight of Ariana disappearing completely. I try not to think of where I am, how far from the surface we are and what would happen if I got stuck—or lost—down here. But Ariana wouldn’t leave without me. If I take a wrong turn somehow, she’ll come get me. This thought keeps me moving, keeps me swimming for another few minutes until the passage opens into an enormous area, the water clearing slightly.
It’s the size of the Great Hall, but this one is empty, save the muddied water. Through it, I can see Ariana toward the top, waiting by another tunnel opening. Once seeing me, she waits, allowing time for me to catch up. I swim to the top, finally reaching right behind her.
“Just a little farther. We are almost there—I promise.”
I nod and she takes off through the tunnel. My heart races, terrified of entering yet another confined space and basically, moving through it blindly. But it’s too late to back out now. Besides, I’m almost there.
Inhaling a deep breath, I take off after her, pushing my way through the tightest passage yet, my shoulders nearly brushing the walls around me. Kicking my feet to project me forward, I don’t know how Reid—or even Booker—would be able to fit through here. Maybe that’s another reason she asked me to come with her. I can fit. But there has to be other entrances. What if the prisoner is larger? How would they be able to get into the prison? I remind myself to ask Ariana when I get the chance and continue kicking my feet.
Finally, we emerge from the tiny space into another huge area. I follow, swimming up, and I break the surface of the water. Ariana’s head and shoulders bob out of the black depths a few feet away.
“Are you alright?”
“Fine,” I glance around.
This room is similar to all the rest—an enormous, bulbous space made of rock walls lined with separate black tunnels. Except this area has a two-foot perimeter of solid ground wrapped around it while the rest of the floor is encompassed by the wide pool we’re wading in. Ariana moves for the edge and pulls herself up. I swim after her and she reaches in, helping me out.
Once we’re both on solid ground, she leads me around to the nearest tunnel. “This way.”
I’m behind her, following as we enter the dark hall. “So where are the other entrances?”
She glances back at me. “How do you know there are others?”
“You have to be able to transport larger prisoners,” I glance back to the pool. “And those tunnels were insanely narrow.”
“Yes—sorry about that. We used the visitor’s entrance. It is to dissuade anyone from wanting to come by.”
“I can’t imagine why.”
She chuckles, “The main entrance is similar, except the tunnels are much, much wider. Come on, we are almost there.”
The princess leads us through the passage until we reach the very end, where a tall glass wall separates us from a tank of water on the other side. It’s not terribly large, but gives its inhabitant enough room to swim around. Or, if they prefer, coral stairs to lead up to the dry part of the encasement where a small section of limestone ground remains. Solid bars of the same material weave together, forming a different type of wall.
Perio floats backwards, hands behind his head as we approach. He does a double take as he sees Ariana, immediately swimming up to the glass and pressing his hands against it. Refusing to return the gesture, she moves up the matching steps to meet him on the dry ground. He immediately joins her, flying to the gray limestone ground and pressing himself against the bars.
“Ariana, my love. You have come to free me.”
She inhales. “No, Perio.”
“Then you have come with a message from the queen about my freedom.” He says it as a statement, but at her hesitation to agree, he goes on, grasping the bars in his hands. “You would not come for nothing. Your presence gives me hope.”
“It should not.”
“It does,” he smiles dreamily at her.
“I have come to learn the truth.”
“You know my feelings for you.”
“Not that truth.”
“What else is there?”
She sighs. “What you planned to do to the remaining humans. What you plan to do with the Muskos.”
At this he pauses, taken off course momentarily. But he recovers quickly, trying to convince her with as simple an explanation as possible. “We plan on keeping Mybyncia safe.”
“How?”
“Doing what we must.”
“Which is?”
“Executing all foreigners.” He says without hint of remorse. At Ariana’s gasp, he goes on, keeping his face pressed between the bars. “Ariana, my love, I do this for you. This is all for you.”
“I do not want this, Perio.”
He nods, expecting this answer, already prepped with a response. “You are too innocent to understand. I take on this burden for you, so you will not have to know the horrors that live outside our great World. Ariana, my love,” he gazes at her again, “do you have any conception of what your beauty does to me?”
“How were you planning these executions?” she ignores his question.
“The most beautiful of all Queen Ravan’s daughters… I could not imagine a more precious creature. One as lovely as you could not exist.”
“Perio,” Ariana’s voice tightens.
“Yes, my love.”
“How were you planning these executions?”
He pauses, his mind reeling as he gazes adoringly at her. “Have I ever told you how your eyes sparkle when you are stern?”
“I am not stern, I am aggravated.”
“You are breathtaking.”
Ariana turns to me with a defeated huff. “This might have been for naught. I do not think he is going to tell us anything.”
I’m still down the steps, near the glass wall on the opposite side of the water tank. Perio follows Ariana’s stare and once seeing me, transforms from adoring to an intense severity. Narrowing his eyes with unfathomable fury, he looks at me like I’m a walking disease. But the fact that I’m moving up the steps, near Ariana sends him into a seething rage.
“What is she doing here?” he hisses.
“I brought her.”
“She is a plague,” he focuses on Ariana again. “Free me and I can rid you of her putrid presence.”
“She is a friend.”
“She is an enemy. Anyone not Mybyncian is an enemy.”
“I am sorry you feel that way,” the princess frowns.
“I want to create a safe world for you—this is the only way.”
“I disagree.”
“Ariana, please,” he’s gripping the bars. “I do this for you. I love you. Let me cleanse you of her blasphemy.”
“My blasphemy?” I can’t take it anymore. I know Qippert said to remain quiet but Perio has gone too far. “You’re the one who wants to murder innocents.”
With spit flying, he spews a harsh jumble of curses at me, his orange eyes narrowed in rage.
“Yeah, that’s the way to win your lady,” I interrupt his vicious tirade. “Offer her a platter of corpses. That’ll seal the deal.”
“You are just a dead human.”
“Perio!” Ariana gasps, suddenly nervous.
“She is dead. All of the
m are. It is only a matter of time.”
“What do you mean?”
“As soon as the queen releases me, or perhaps,” his smile grows, “before then, I shall seek vengeance for the attack on the Southern Waters.”
“They were not the ones who did it.”
“It matters not. One day you will understand, Ariana. One day, you will know what I have done for you. You will see what I have come to realize, that this World we live in is the only one that matters. We must do everything to keep it protected.”
With an exhausted sigh, Ariana tries one last time. “Is there anything else you can tell me?”
“Only how much I love you,” he’s back to gazing at her. “How I dream of you and the day we are to be joined.”
“That will never happen.”
“One day,” he doesn’t seem fazed by her negative response, “One day you will understand and you will look forward to it as much as I.”
Ariana turns to me with a defeated look. “It is pointless. He will not tell us anything useful.”
“Ariana…” he goes on in the background.
“We should go. Maybe Chancellor Keller can get more out of him.”
“Will that half-brain be visiting me too?” He recoils with a bit of a snarl, until his mouth turns up in a mischievous grin. “Oh… I do look forward to his visit. But of course,” he swoons, “not as much as yours.”
“We are leaving now.”
“Dream of me.”
“I will not.”
“Then I will dream of us, and what our life will be together.”
“Goodbye, Perio,” she starts down the few steps and I’m right behind her. We’ve only made it to the beginning of his water tank when he calls after her.
“Ariana! It is imperative to remember you are safest in my arms,” he’s stressing his message to her, hoping she hears the underlying importance of it. “Only I can save you from the plague to come.”
Something in his tone begs a second listen, like he’s trying to tell her something, but at this point, it’s futile thinking we would get the information we want. Refusing to give him a return glance as we head away from his cell, I assume she took nothing from it either. But still, I have to check. “He’s talking about us, right?”
Plague of Mybyncia Page 12