The Spire

by Peter F Smith

  Maria just stared at this strange little man as he finished telling her the worst story she had ever heard. His smile widened. “May I inform master that you will be attending?”

  She nodded her head as her heart began to pound in her chest. His head bobbed happily. “That is most fortunate. You are such a stunning young woman that it would sadden me if I had to clean your flesh from the dining room floor.”

  With that he glided to the exit, stopping suddenly as he arrived at the threshold. “Please don't forget that my master prefers blue garments.”

  12

  The city twinkled below her, its light passing through the rivulets of rain water that covered the translucent skin of the Spire. The light refracted off the water making the cityscape below appear as if it were black field covered in diamonds. It was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever beheld. It was also one of the most depressing. For all its beauty the entire city was a prison. Everyone in it subject to the whims of their mad jailer.

  The elevator finished scaling the side of the Spire and stopped when it could physically go no higher. The door opened into a cavernous dining hall that could have hosted several hundred people easily. Cherry blossoms fell from the ceiling in a slow but persistent stream, carpeting the vast white marble floor. Situated directly in the center of the room was a titanic U shaped table made of thick red wood. Along one side of the table sat all of Jeffery Chen’s first born sons. Each of the boys sat directly across from their respective mothers at the opposite side of the dining table. At the base of the table were three chairs and a throne. Only one of the chairs was occupied, sitting in it was Nathan’s mother.

  As Maria stepped in, a servant came up to her, smiled pleasantly, and guided her to the seat directly opposite of the older woman, leaving a vast gap between the two women. Maria wondered what the seating arrangement was normally.

  As the servant was departing Maria caught his attention and asked, “Could I have a glass of water, please?”

  The man frowned. “We do not partake until his majesty arrives.” He dipped his head and scurried to a spot near the wall.

  She sat there for a moment, trying to work up saliva to moisten her anxiety affected mouth. Then she noticed the eyes of every mother and child were squarely upon her. She smiled weakly as their eyes burrowed into her and then began to fidget with her silverware. They all sat there perfectly still, their hands folded in their laps. Nathan's mother stared daggers at her, and Maria had little doubt as to the sincerity of the older woman's previous threat.

  A throat was cleared next to her and she looked up from her nervous movement to see the same servant from a moment before. She stopped and was about to ask him what he needed when his hands shot to her silverware and cloth napkin and quickly rolled them back up, making certain to remove a smudge on her salad fork before tying it all closed with a ribbon she had removed. He darted away as quickly as he arrived. She looked back at them all and if anything their expressions were even more contemptuous, except for the oldest boy, the one nearest to her. He was looking at with a completely different and far more carnal expression. She half expected the young teen to lick his thin little mustache.

  Suppressing a shudder, she looked up at the sound of dress shoes clacking against the polished floor. Jeffery entered, breezing past his guards, and sat in his throne to her right. “I’m sorry for my tardiness everyone but I was busy breaking in one of the new maids.”

  Maria felt her shudder return as the elder Chen unrolled his cutlery and placed the napkin in his lap, as if rehearsed the entire family did exactly as he had the moment he finished “Amaya, I assume Nathan is off brooding somewhere”.

  “That bitch you brought into our home attacked him,” the older woman said with the most artificial smile and controlled tone that Maria had ever heard, apparently being pleasant at the dinner table was an absolute requirement in the Chen household. Maria was certain that the woman would have gladly buried her salad fork in Maria's throat if it hadn't been for the strict etiquette being followed.

  The entire family quietly watched to see what happened next. Jeffery looked at her. “My home.”

  Amaya stood. “I just told you that she attacked our son, your first born, and you respond by putting me in my place. You should be beating her.”

  Jeffery smirked and Maria began to believe that she was about to witness something she would rather not see, instead he surprised her. He began to whistle and make clicking sounds with the side of his mouth. The sound of claws clacking on the tile resonated in the deathly quiet room. Maria turned to see three healthy dogs of mixed breeding enter into the dinning space. They happily trotted up between Jeffery and Maria. He leaned down and began to shower them with kisses and a tussling of their fur and ears. The dogs responded by licking his face and a most unexpected and gleeful laugh erupted from the mountain of a man. Suddenly her nerves relaxed, he had a soul after all.

  He looked up and flashed her a genuine smile. “Would you like to feed them?”

  Seeing this as an opportunity to create a positive connection with the man, maybe even a route toward endearing herself with him and thus earning greater access to the family operations, she nodded. That, and she really loved dogs. He snapped his fingers and the servant who had spoken to her earlier came over carrying a golden tray with strips of fine beef and cheese adorning it.

  The dogs quickly scampered up to her feet as the man came to her side. He lowered the tray to make her reach easier, and she took three of the pieces of beef and thanked the servant, who replied with a smile. The dogs literally drooled on the floor waiting for her to dispense their treats.

  She held up the pieces. “Sit.”

  The one in the center dropped its hindquarters while the other two stared on. She quickly rewarded it with the first strip. The other two saw this and quickly did the same.

  Jeffery let out a bellow, “How quickly they learn when correctly incentivized. If only people appreciated the gifts they were given and knew when to obey.” He cast an eye at his first wife who slowly took her seat, Chen then signaled the servants to begin serving the drinks, taking a mug of dark amber colored beer from one of them. The rest of the family began to drink and converse as well, breaking the cold silence that had oppressed the space.

  Maria put a strip in either palm and then opened them flat for the last two dogs, who licked the meal directly off her flesh. She smiled and further ruffled their fur and leaned in to deliver a kiss to one of them, noting how they smelled of lavender. The dogs panted happily, one even placed its paw on her leg, begging for more. She laughed, “Alright little guy, of course you can have some more.”

  She turned to the servant and took a small handful of cheese from his plate. Before she could feed it to them, the man leaned down to whisper in her ear, “You may not wish to afford the animals more attention than is required in order to demonstrate proper deference to my master’s generosity."

  She arched an eyebrow, bewildered by this warning. “Why shouldn't I play with the dogs? Is it not proper dinner etiquette?” sarcasm dripping from her last word.

  “Etiquette is not of concern here. Your behavior is angering Lucious, my master’s third son.”

  He looked in the direction of the boy and Maria followed, seeing the young man sitting red faced, his hand gripping his napkin so tightly that his fingers were going bone white. “What, he doesn't like sharing their attention?”

  He paused, “Have you not noticed that the seat directly across from him is vacant?”

  She flicked her eyes and saw an empty spot with no place setting, on the side of the mothers and then she recalled the veiled threat Jeffery Chen had made in the hangar. “Your master killed his mother, but what does that have to do with the dogs?” she asked as she gently scratched one behind the ear.

  “These were the creatures that were consuming her remains when we descended into the city to recover them.”

  Her brain stopped processing what the man said, and she lo
oked down at the welcoming face of the dog she was scratching. Its tongue hung out as it happily panted away, enjoying the affection she was providing. Slowly she moved her hand away, intellectually she knew not to blame the dogs, but the revulsion she felt bubbling up within was growing too strong for her to ignore.

  “Would it be rude if I were to ask you to take the dogs somewhere else?”

  He smiled. “Not at all, would you like a sanitizing wipe as well? The first course will be served shortly." Even though she hadn't yet said yes, he quickly produced a small satchel and withdrew a white wipe from within. She took it thanking him politely as she wiped her hands a little more intensely than she otherwise would have. He extended his hand and stood there while she finished, a happy smile upon his face. Maria wondered if he had lost his mind before falling into Jeffery Chen's employment or after. She had been here only a few hours now, and she already feared for her sanity. She finished and placed it in his open hand. He smiled and gathered the dogs.

  Jeffery Chen was a monster. She had hated Nathaniel for so long but now a profound sense of pity descended over her. How could the little boy she had played with so long ago grow up to be anything other than damaged when the man who sat down the table from her was easily one of the worst human beings in history? The fear and intimidation he used to hold his millions of subjects in line was not limited just to them, but shared by all.

  The appetizers were served and the mothers and sons began to discuss the events of the day and court gossip. Lucious sat in silence, occasionally glancing at her but never at his father. Jeffery sat and watched as the others socialized, having finished his beer he transitioned to drinking from a glass bottle full of soda, a small bendy straw sticking up from its neck and making the rather large man look ridiculous. It dawned on her that he was fully aware of his appearance. He desired for someone to comment so that he could demonstrate his superiority over them or, if no one spoke of it, then his position was further reinforced. His manservant likely employed the others to act as spies against his own family and the noble families who lived here as well.

  The elevator doors opened at the end of the cavernous space and Nathan slowly walked out, a slight limp in his step. The entire family went silent, their eyes locked on him as he passed the awkwardly long distance. Jeffery slurped down his soda, loudly sucking up the last few drops. A fresh one was deposited in front of him before he even looked up. Maria watched as he tossed the bottle to the side and let out a burp, which reverberated off the walls. She looked at Nathan as he finally neared the table. A fire lit his eyes and she could feel his gaze burning into her. Normally she would have returned it tenfold, butting heads was kind of their thing. Now the best she could summon was a look of pity for the abuse he had likely received from the man to her right for years. Confusion and discomfort flashed across his face and he missed a step.

  “For the love of god boy, pull your crap together or the floor will be kicking your ass too," Jeffery bellowed. Pain, but not the physical kind, flashed across Nathan's face for a microsecond and was replaced by a look of apathy. “I'll be sure to remember that Dad."

  Nathan sat in his chair and the servants quickly placed beverages and appetizers before him. His mother reached out and placed a comforting hand upon his, and he smiled at her briefly before taking a drink. “So how are you feeling boy? Little miss over here didn't kick your ass too badly, did she?”

  Nathan grimaced for a moment and then shook his head. “No Dad, I’m fine.”

  The older man laughed, “I wouldn't go that far. You have absolutely no impulse control, and after years of combat training from my best soldiers, you still can't handle a hundred and twenty pounds of estrogen and a pony tail.”

  Through clenched teeth Nathan responded, “She surprised me.”

  His father shook his head. “Don't make excuses boy. You underestimated your opponent and she beat the shit out of you,” he stopped mid-sentence and took a bite of food, taking his time and savoring it, secure in the knowledge that no one would interject. “I also told everyone she wasn't to be harmed. Next time you disobey me and she kicks your ass, I'll have the doctors add a vagina to ya so we can stop pretending you’re anything other than a little spoiled bitch.”

  Maria saw the moment Nathan snapped. It was hard to see, but it was the same shift in the muscles around his eyes, and she knew he was about to do something he would soon regret. “Maybe you can donate yours.”

  Maria's breath caught. The room literally went devoid of noise of any kind and if looked at from above she was certain the dinner guests and servants resembled a still photograph. Jeffery's laughter broke the void and members of the family nervously smiled and looked at one another. All except for Chen’s second oldest son who looked on his older brother with glee, likely imagining Nathan’s death and his rapid ascension. Nathan’s mother, on the other hand, had faded entirely to white. She knew her son was in the greatest peril of his short life.

  Jeffery rested his square chin on his fist, with his elbow perched on the table.” Do explain why it is I have a vagina.”

  Nathan burst like a damn, “We outnumber their family’s army two to one, we will soon be able to out produce them, and we have the majority of the world’s natural resources.” Nathan began to laugh and continued, “And yet even though we had them by the balls, you let them catch their breath and agree to a ceasefire!”

  Jeffery nodded his head thoughtfully and then what happened next occurred so quickly that her brain couldn't process it. One moment Nathan was sitting upright, a self-righteous sneer plastered on his face, and the next it was embedded in the table after having been forced through his plate. Blood and bits of ceramics rained down upon the floor and table decorations. Maria's mind spooled through the event, like a computer buffering through a large file. Jeffery had reached over to Nathan with supernatural speed and with strength to match slammed his first born son’s face into the table. He again situated himself at his seat, wiping flecks of blood from his hand and forearm, and then took a calm and very controlled drink.

  The room seemed even quieter after the cacophony caused by the attack, and Maria stared at Nathan waiting for any sign of life from him. She flicked her eyes to his mother, who sat there white as newly fallen snow, her fingernails digging into the arms of her chair and panic clearly in her eyes.

  “Second,” he called out and the young man with the newly grown mustache sat up straighter, his grin so intense that Maria imagined she could smell crap.

  “Yes, Father.”

  “How is what just happened a lesson on how to handle the Pattersons?”

  “My brother made the mistake of believing his position was stronger than it actually was. When you didn't immediately strike him for his initial challenge to your authority, the illusion of weakness was created. Jacob Patterson is incredibly intelligent and his weakened vulnerable state was likely created to manipulate you into overcommitting forces at which point he would close his trap. By taking his daughter, you guarantee the safety of this Spire, and you get a better idea if your position relative to his is in fact real.”

  Jeffery turned to the still figure of Nathan. “Why the hell weren't you that smart?"

  Nathan let out a low moan, and Maria released a breath she hadn't realized she was still holding. Jeffery barked out a laugh, “Huh, really thought I had killed him.”

  Nathan's mother began sobbing, and Jeff sighed, dismissively waving his hand, “Go to him.”

  Before he finished his last syllable, the older woman was bolting to cradle her son and she cried out to the servants nearby to help her. Quickly and carefully they gathered him up and removed him from the room.

  “Be certain the surgeons give him a vagina while they fix the rest of him,” he quipped.

  The entire family sat in silence, but Maria couldn't help but glare at the man. She had no love for Nathaniel. He had done nothing but torment and impede her for years but no amount of contempt she held for him would have justified what
he had just gone through. This was yet another opportunity for Jeffery Chen to reinforce his dominance over the family and attempt to intimidate her. After all if he was willing to kill his first born so casually, what were his plans for her and her family?

  Jeffery smirked at her, “Something on your mind?”

  “They all know you're in charge,” she said, motioning to the family as they sat quietly. “Why do you feel the constant need to slam that point home?”

  He snorted, “Slam, that was puny."

  She shook her head in disbelief. “Are you a psychopath?”

  “Nope.” He took a sip of his soda. “I'm free.”

  “So am I, but I'm not a colossal dick to the rest of the world.”

  Jeffery was in middle drink when she made her statement and he began to laugh, which turned into a snort and then hacking as the fluid tried to go down his trachea and came out his nose. He wiped his face and looked at her, his red, irritated eyes unnerving her.

  “You are the daughter of Jacob Patterson. You’re the least free person I've ever known."

  “That's only because I’ve been taken prisoner by a heartless tyrant."

  “Nope, that's because your dad has manipulated every moment of your life to fit into his idea of a perfect utopia. You should be grateful to me. I'm the first person to ever throw a wrench into your father’s design, so you should enjoy your uncertain future while you still can."

  She sneered at him and was about to speak when he interrupted her, “Oh and for the record, I'm not heartless. I happen to love humanity.”