by P. G. Thomas
Lauren ripped it from his hands, fighting to hold back her tears. “THIS,” and then she pointed to the north, “CANNOT JUSTIFY THAT!”
“Justice. Do you know why they blindfolded the statue? It’s not so she can evaluate the evidence without prejudice; it’s because the crimes, criminals, lawyers, and punishments revolt her. However, if we’re talking about justice, let’s consider all of the facts. First, from my extensive experience, I would say less than a hundred died last night. Why? Because you freed a hundred from a gruesome nightmare, which in my books counts as saving twice that number, so in your ledger, you’re still a hundred in the black. When yours starts to drip red like mine, I’ll let you know. Now if you want, I’ll go upstairs and get that soother we found, so you can suck on it like a crybaby, or you can dust yourselves off, and start trying to figure out how to save your daughters.”
[Anger red lining. Safeties holding. Overload. Imminent Failure.] Ryan started to transform, his clothes melding to his skin, his bulk increasing. “You’ll apologize right now!”
“If I don’t, what’re you going to do? Hit a defenseless man?”
“I’ll—I’ll—”
“You won’t do a damn thing, and I know it because I’m not the threat,” Steve said pointing north. “Zymse is! Get over this, and get your damn heads back into the game!” He turned, heading back into the house.
Ryan, wanting to inflict a gigantic amount of pain on a small person, turned north and thought of Zymse, but in between her soft sobs, he heard Lauren’s words, ‘Can you fill the tub for me?’ As the rage evaporated, he regressed to normal, pushing his anger away. “Yes, my love.” [Implement Command Center 3.0. Reinforce safeties.]
*******
Jedimac watched for hours, as the strange events from across the river continued to play out. Around noon, he heard the secret knock on the door, donned his black mask, and checked to make sure his daggers were ready, “Enter.”
“Unknown, I thought you should hear this personally. You instructed my team to watch the Earth Mother and her group. They left their house in two carriages in the dark, heading to the bridge. I believe elves killed the Darkpaye Watch that guarded it, and then they went to that old prison which they entered. They were inside about two hours, and when they came out, I watched them walk up the street. I have no idea on what she did sir,” he pointed to the window, “but she did that.”
“Then?”
“They vanished into the night.”
Jedimac shook his head, “What?”
“Unknown, I have not been drinking, though I would not mind one right now. A large round light appeared in front of them, which looked like a room. Before it appeared, all I could see were their shadow shapes, but it seemed like they stepped into it, and they appeared to be inside of a lit house looking out a window.” He began to rub his head, “Maybe something fell on me?”
“The rest of your team?”
“When we saw one run up the street, my shadow followed him, but I have not checked in yet.”
“Get some rest.”
When Jedimac was alone, he retrieved the piece of paper that listed the properties that Zymse owned, seeing the old prison listed on it. What did Zymse have in there? Her daughters? If that is the kind of wrath we can expect from this coming war, then we need to end it soon, or I will be looking for a new guild—and town.
*******
The rest of the morning had remained quiet, but just when the house staff started to serve the mid-day meal, Steve walked out from the study. “We have a problem. Zymse opened his little shop of branding horrors.”
At the table that morning, both Gayne and Mirtza had wondered how to breach the uncomfortable silence, watching Lauren, Ryan, Eric, Jasmine, and Zack sitting in silence, but they would have preferred a different subject to engage all.
Lauren dropped her utensils, “We should’ve brought back two stones!”
“Can’t we just—”
“No drastic actions!” Steve said, cutting Ryan off.
“Then what do we do?” asked a frustrated Eric.
“If he brands them,” advised Steve, “they’ll just be mindless citizens doing his bidding, nothing more than a new version of that old shield of innocents, and we still need a way to find your daughters.”
“There’s been no sign of them,” began Eric, “Panry has searched Zymse house and the buildings at the fort he can get into, and Zack searched the prison. Nobody has seen them since Sam and Hope were rescued.”
Steve nodded, “I know, so if he doesn’t bring them out, we need to create a situation that will make him.”
“Like what, Dude? A beauty contest for babies?”
“I doubt if Zymse would want to be around that many rug rats, Kid, but showing off their kids is one reason parents take them out of their houses. I was thinking more of the second reason.” Picking up his plate of food and a cup of bean juice, he headed back to the study. “I’m going back to the mirrors before somebody throws something at me.” When the door closed, he heard a mug explode on the other side.
Gayne just shook his head.
Ryan had a surprised look on his face, “Lauren?”
“The Dude’s right. Only time we saw babies in Alron were when parents were showing them off or bringing them to our house because they were sick.”
“What’s he suggesting?” asked Eric.
Lauren’s head was bent forward, her breathing slow and heavy, “Where’s Logan?”
“He most likely went to Alron to be with the Bastards,” suggested Eric.
Mirtza offered his services, “I can go retrieve him if you wish.”
“No,” replied Lauren, “I don’t know how he could help here anyways.” She turned to Ryan, “I can’t make babies sick—not—not mine.”
“The Dude’s right, if we can’t find the mountain, then maybe we need him to show it to us.”
“WTF? Did I say it right?” asked Jasmine, “I have practiced much.”
Lauren let out a weak smile. “Yes.” She then turned to Zack, “WTF?”
“Bad Dude is playing hide-and-seek with your daughters and winning. If they became sick, Dude’s gotta do something, and either bring them out so somebody can help or take somebody to them. If you pick the right poison, he’ll need to seek out an Earth Daughter, and from what I hear, you have the market cornered on them.”
Lauren gave her head a shake, “How?”
“No idea, Dudette, but look at what Gingaar did with all of those plants. However, I would strongly suggest avoiding Sweet Release. There must be something from Mother that you can twist or bend to—”
She cut him off, “No, there’s no way I’m harming any children,” especially my own, “Gingaar used plants to protect Alron, which is what Mother would want. To use her gift—to cause pain, maybe death? No, that would be wrong!” Her voice went quiet, “But what happens if nobody goes into his house of horrors?”
Jasmine tilted her head to one side, “Nothing shal happen?”
“No, he has some sort of game plan,” replied Lauren. “With the trollmares, he technically controls the Newlands, and anybody that he brands, well, he’ll most likely also influence. That’s the same reason for the Midnight Sun; he causes them pain, providing the cure so that he can dominate them. After he creates a threat, he provides a resolution that pulls them into his shadow.”
“Where’re you going with this?” asked Ryan.
“I’m trying to think like Steve,” replied Lauren. “Zymse needs to brand people, so that he can control them, and he probably wants to brand everybody or the majority.”
“Then the Dude carries out the next part of his plan, whatever that is.”
Eric nodded, “If he can’t brand anybody, he’s finished.”
“Yes,” replied Lauren, “and the Earth Daughters should be showing the children were my plants are growing by now, so with their suffering ending, they’ll no longer have a reason to go back to the Newlands. They have also freed a signific
ant number from the Sun, but I don’t even know if Mother could grow enough of those berries to free them all.”
“Then what do we do, Dudette?”
“You said Zymse was angered by the fact that his revenues were down? Let’s face it, whatever he’s doing, it has to be costing him something, and I doubt if he has unlimited wealth. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s using his drug money to finance his other plans. Basically, trying to kill two birds with—”
“Stoners,” replied Zack.
Lauren sighed, “Two birds with one stone. Let’s pretend we shut down his drug cartel. Then I issue an Earth Bond so nobody is branded, and instead, I tell them to seek out Earth Daughters. What happens then?”
“Dude will probably convert his branding station into a sauna since he will be steaming mad.”
“And upset people make mistakes.” Then Lauren added, “Before anybody speaks it, yes, I’m speaking from experience.”
Ryan gave his head a shake, “You agreed with Steve that nobody should make a move against Zymse?”
“I know, but let’s just play this out. When we were in Alron with their spies watching us, every time we moved they countered us. If I hadn’t been an Earth Daughter, and the rest of you weren’t there, they would’ve won. Even when Korg showed up, we played his game, giving him the first move.”
“Technically,” Eric interjected, “We had already made a number of first moves. The pony express and even the town hall meeting where we met him.”
Her icy stare spoke the words she did not want to say. “But then we gave the board to him.”
“Why did you do that test, Dudette?”
“We talked about it numerous times back home. Even though Mother might be a strong influence, doubt is an even bigger obstacle to overcome. The words those Earth Mothers said made sense, and in some ways, I was still a scared little girl in a strange world. John always thought they used some sort of magic spell to compel us, but I’ll never know for sure. We’re getting off topic. My point is that we played his game. It wasn’t until everybody else stepped up that we won Alron back.”
“I don’t like it,” replied Eric, “Why not just wait for Mother to heal?”
Lauren nodded, “What happens if by that time he has branded half of the Bright Coast, having a similar shield of innocents but in a congested city?”
“What happens if he does something we can’t counter?” Ryan asked.
“We’re screwed,” replied Lauren, “but if we can’t counter it now, it doesn’t really matter when he does it.”
“If Mother is healed, perchance she shall be able to help?” suggested Jasmine.
“When’s that going to happen?” asked Lauren. “Two days, two months, two years?”
“I do not know.”
“Earth Mother is right,” Jaykil said, “and you have two options: wait or take action.”
“If we do that,” began Ryan, “won’t Zymse know we’re moving against him?”
“Let’s pull our heads out of the sand,” began Lauren, “because he already knows something is up. Somebody stole his wolves, and Earth Daughters are back in the Bright Coast. Then a mysterious earthquake where he held the Bastards prisoners, and all of the other abnormal crap that has happened. He needs to start branding people to build his shield of innocents, army, or whatever it is.”
“Okay, so we shut down his two current plays, then what?” asked Eric.
“He’ll do something else, and then we run an offensive play that stops him again,” replied Lauren.
Ryan shook his head, “What happens if he leaves?”
“He won’t. He’s acting like a teenage girl trying to be the prom queen by manipulating the vote. He has too much invested, wanting to win too badly, so I don’t think he’ll just become a wallflower. He has to know that he’s running out of time, which means he’ll shift to a higher gear.” Lauren scanned the group, “The best thing we can do is add some speed bumps to slow him down.”
“Do we check with Steve?” asked Eric.
She shook her head, “No, I still agree with him that our best chance is to wait until Mother wakes, but there isn’t anything more we can do to help her. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pull up a chair, sitting with him staring at those damn mirrors all day. Hell, we could just take them and go to Alron, waiting there until Mother wakes. Look we have two choices; wait and do nothing, or wait and do something. Maybe we can throw off his game plan, at a minimum, stop him from getting any stronger.”
“Perchance we shal anger him more.”
Lauren refused to acknowledge Jasmine’s cautionary warning.
Chapter 18
Zack had been flying high above the Bright Coast for most of the day, watching the events at Zymse’s stronghold. During that time, he had seen numerous non-servants leave the complex, traveling to different destinations in the Darkpaye-controlled section of the town, and memorized each so he could return that night to investigate them further. Around noon, he saw a different mounted rider leave the complex, but unlike the others, this one was not dressed in the typical uniform worn by most of Zymse’s henchmen. Instead, he wore plain leather and fabric clothing, but even though it blended in with the regular citizens, he looked out of place leaving the menacing fortress, so Zack’s eagle vision focused on the oddity. With the other riders that morning, he could circle back around, easily identify the mark that he followed, but with this one, he had to maintain his eye contact, and even then, he lost track of him several times on some of the crowded streets. By hovering in place, scanning intently from his altitude, he managed to identify the lone traveler, watching while he continued his way to the academy. When he arrived there, Zack landed on a nearby roof, and twenty minutes later the rider reappeared, who continued his journey by heading south across the bridge. For over an hour, he watched from the sky while the rider zigzagged through the streets, stopping at different locations, where he would enter the building, staying for a few minutes. Zack, thinking he was wasting his time, almost lost him when he entered the front door of one building, exiting out the back but had also changed his clothes. When that happened, Zack knew there was something special about this person. Several hours later, stopping at a building in the unwelcoming section of the docks, he stayed inside longer than his other visits. Zack landed on the roof, transformed, and hastily gained access inside. As he scurried through the vermin-infested building, he could feel the eyes of the large dock rats staring at him. LEAVE ME ALONE! Listening to them scuttle away, he spotted an illuminated hole in a wall, which he maneuvered towards.
“Should there not be more?”
“We dropped the prices like instructed and increased concentration, but it was working too well.”
“What do you mean?”
“They drifted away for too long, and some never came back, so we tried something new with the last batch, decreasing the concentration. It seems to have worked because they are returning more often, but…”
“But what?”
“The thief guilds have increased their attempts to find us.”
“I will tell Master Zymse that sales are picking up.”
“Do you want us to load the gold into your wagon?”
“No, I did not bring one, so I will send somebody tomorrow for it.”
*******
Jedimac eagerly scanned the notes from the night runners, and other than some minor injuries, all had weathered the strange earthbound storm without incident—except for the group that watched the legends because one Black Watch was still missing. As he burnt the bad news, he reached into his pocket, extracting the letter that Corackas had placed in the secret drop location, and reviewed the current activities of his guild. Much like he expected, all was quiet, but there had been an increased rate of unsanctioned crimes from those who favored the Midnight Sun.
*******
Hearing a scratch at the door, the thief inside opened it, looking down at the biggest dog he had ever seen. “Gets outta here!”
Tiny smiled. “Lets him in,” and then he walked to Jedimac’s office door, opened it, carrying two mugs of beer in one hand, with a large bar towel draped over his arm. “Boss, we gots a special guest. Everybody OUT!” Even though Tiny may not have been the guild leader, when he spoke, even if poorly, everybody listened, and several secret panels silently slid closed.
After the timber wolf had entered, shimmering out of focus, a naked Zack accepted both the towel and the drink from the large thief.
Astonished, Corackas never betrayed his surprise of seeing the Legend Absent materialize in front of him, instead, just leaned back in the chair.
Zack looked up at Tiny, “How’s it going, Big Guy?”
“Things good out here, not quiet like Alron, but’s I likes it. Youse brings your kids with you? And that sweet little wife Nur?”
“Sorry, BG, they’re back in Alron.”
“Then whats you doin here?”
“I was wondering the same?” asked Corackas.
Zack looked at the man behind the desk and then up to Tiny, “Where’s my main man Jedi?”
“Big boss—”
Corackas cut him off, “He is out.”
“Can I trust him, BG?”
Tiny nodded.
Walking over to the desk, Zack sat, “Okay, since Tiny vouched for you, and you’re in the J-man’s chair, do you have a name, Dude?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then Dude it is,” and Zack took a long drink, “I hear you have four suns out here, but one only comes out at midnight?”
“Yes.”
“You got a pulse, Dude?”
Corackas nodded, “If you have something to sell, name your price.”
“I come here thinking I’m doing the J-man a favor, yet all I get is your cold shoulder. If that’s all I wanted, I could get it back in Alron.” Then Zack turned to Tiny, “Is there a guild reward for finding the source of the Midnight Sun?”