Suriax

by Amanda Young

  “Did he say what he wanted?”

  “He said it had to do with another heir to the throne.” Svanteese cringed and took a reflexive step back.

  Outwardly she remained calm and composed, her eyes the only thing that changed. “Find out which guard killed him and bring that man to me. I’ll be in the temple.” It looked like she would be visiting the clerics a little earlier than she planned.

  * * *

  Kern looked in on his sleeping uncle before heading off to the temple headquarters for the Guard. Maybe he was worrying for nothing. He walked around the entire city and still didn’t know what he should do. Chances were no one else even knew. So what if he had family he didn’t know? He’d done fine without them all these years. But was that fair to Frex? His uncle gave up his entire life to protect him. Kern never really appreciated how much of a sacrifice that was until now. If not for him, Frex would be living in the palace in Aleria, surrounded by family who could care for him a lot better than a single nephew. He needed to be around people, not alone in some run down apartment.

  Footsteps rang down the hall. A woman rushed by, bumping into him without apology. His response died on his lips when he saw it was Queen Maerishka. He stopped dead in his tracks. She turned down the hall, and he heard the door to the altar room open and close. She was here to pray. That wasn’t uncommon. She was a regular at the temple. Before today, he wouldn’t have thought anything of seeing her here. Now . . . now her presence meant so much more. She was his half sister, and she could very well become his executioner if she ever learned of that fact. It wouldn’t be the first time she killed a family member. If anything happened to him, his uncle would be alone, and who was say she would stop with him? If she killed their father, she would have no qualms over killing his uncle. After all, they had a different mother, so Frex was not blood to her. As much as he wished he could forget everything he learned and go back to the way things were, he couldn’t hide from who he was. It was time to leave Suriax.

  * * *

  Kern poked his head in the back door of the tavern. This time of night, most of the regular patrons were home. Things were winding down, and the staff was beginning to clean up and get ready for the next day. It didn’t take him long to find who he was looking for. “Hey, Marce, can we talk a minute?”

  Marcy smiled instantly and put down her towel. “Sure.” Joining him outside, she leaned casually against the building, looking at him expectantly. No doubt she thought he would finally ask her out. She hinted at it often enough. If only that were his reason for seeking her out tonight.

  “I need you to look after my uncle for awhile. I have some things I need to take care of, and I don’t know how long I’ll be. I don’t want to leave him alone.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “That’s not important. Can you watch after him for me?”

  “Of course, but . . .”

  “Thanks, Marce.” Kern kissed her quickly on the cheek and dashed off before she could ask any other questions. He didn’t have any answers to give her. He didn’t even know for sure where he was going. He needed to go to Aleria, but he had no idea what he would do when he arrived. He would just have to figure that out along the way.

  * * *

  “You’re looking at this all wrong,” Eirae looked across the table at his sister, Mirerien, and his brother, Pielere. Morning sunlight streamed in through the window. They normally didn’t make any rulings this early in the day, but they agreed to make a special exception this time. Everyone was on edge. With today the first day of the Suriaxian annual holiday, there would be many tourists and over zealous participants bleeding over into Aleria. Alerian’s were distrustful of Suriaxians already. Every year, there was a spike in disputes, frustrations, and lawbreakers to deal with. The three of them had their work cut out of them. It was their job to maintain order in their kingdom. Of course, there were other judges to handle smaller issues and day to day infractions, but Eirae and his siblings preferred to be hands on whenever possible. Many judges from their father’s time were corrupt and gave verdicts based on bribes. They unseated all those judges and began anew, training a new generation of law keepers. Since those people had a great deal of power over the lives of their citizens, the triplets felt a great deal of responsibility for them. They reviewed every case personally and stepped in to reverse any verdicts that did not comply a hundred percent with the law. Their impartiality and dedication to the law earned them the name The Three Lawgivers. Eirae was known as the Punisher. As his name implied, he focused on the punishments given to lawbreakers. He believed it was the fear of punishment that kept order and gave the laws their strength. Pielere was called the Protector. He was the most like their grandfather, believing that laws existed to protect the citizens and should be fair and kind. He and Eirae often disagreed on the subtleties of the law with Pielere more likely to call for leniency in their punishments. Mirerien was the mediator between them. She did not feel the law existed to protect or punish anyone. Laws existed to maintain order. Either protection or punishment could achieve that goal at any given time. She was often referred to as the Keeper of Order. People from all over the continent sought out their advice and ruling in difficult cases, and they took their responsibilities very seriously.

  “We can’t excuse unsanctioned trade with Suriax,” Eirae continued. “The Farnesay gnomes were very explicit. They only agreed to trade their drander meat with us because we assured them we would not trade it to Suriax. If they find out that merchant sold the meat to someone from Suriax, they will pull all their trade agreements with us. We are just as responsible as her for letting this happen.”

  “But if she didn’t know he was from Suriax,” Pielere argued.

  “Exactly, if?”

  “She didn’t know,” Mirerien said, speaking for the first time.

  Eirae sighed. There was no arguing with Mirerien’s ability to read people. If she said the merchant was telling the truth, it was true. “Be that as it may, if we let her get away with an unsanctioned sale, others will follow. They will all want to claim they didn’t know.”

  Pielere flipped through their papers. “She’s only had her license a few months. Mistakes at this point are not to be unexpected.”

  “She didn’t tax something the wrong amount, or miscount inventory. This violates treaties and trade laws. All merchants know the penalties for violating these laws are severe; instantaneous loss of their merchant license, fines and possible jail time.”

  Mirerien stood and looked out the window, not talking right away. Finally, she turned and looked at her brothers. “There is no need revoke her general merchant license. Her mistake was not made maliciously, and she is unlikely to purposefully repeat it. If she is unable to accurately monitor who her customers are and where her products are going, then we can take away her license to trade restricted items. That cuts into her potential profit, limiting her access to merchandise and forces her to face the economic consequences of her carelessness. We charge her a small fine to cover the paperwork fees and put her on a probationary period where we set her up to be monitored. If she doesn’t break any other laws or restrictions during that time, we can revisit whether or not to reissue her full license.”

  “Agreed,” Pielere nodded.

  “Agreed,” Eirae added. “Now, on to the next case.”

  * * *

  Maerishka took a deep breath and held it, waiting for her attendant to pull the lacing tight on her dress. “Which ones do you like for the banquet?” her event coordinator asked, holding up two plates. One was white with a colorless imprint of the royal crest on the center. It was elegant, but no one would even notice the crest through the food. She pointed to the second plate, blue with black edges. The door opened, and Svanteese entered, looking less than thrilled to be there. She dismissed everyone else, leaving the remainder of the banquet decisions for later. She had more important matters to attend to.

  “What have you to report?”

  �
�We know the identity of the guard who killed Cornerbluff, but we have been unable to locate him as of yet. His name is Kern Tygierrenon, and he lives in a small apartment with an elderly uncle, but no one has seen him enter or leave the residence all day. Nor has anyone seen him at the temple.”

  “Bring in the uncle. I want to know where he has gone.”

  “Ma’am, as I mentioned, he is very old.”

  “I’m sure there was a point in there somewhere.” She stared him down, daring him to challenge her order. Svanteese was an excellent assistant, but he was a little too soft hearted at times for his own good. He would do well to toughen up and lose the sentimentality. But he didn’t sugar coat things. He told her the truth, regardless of the possible consequences to himself. His honesty and loyalty were the main reasons she kept him around.

  “It is unlikely he would survive our usual interrogation methods. If he dies, we won’t learn anything.”

  She grinned. She knew why he was really worried about killing the man. He was a softy when it came to the elderly and children, a throwback to his days in Aleria, she supposed. But he made his wishes relevant to her and gave her a reason she could accept. As long as he did that, she could allow him to keep his misguided beliefs and soft heart. “As long as you get the information, I don’t care how you do it. Keep in mind, that latitude will be gone if we have any reason to believe the uncle has information that could pose a threat to me. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” Bowing, he left her chamber, allowing everyone else to return.

  Without missing a beat, the event planner pulled out a scroll. “For entertainment we have . . .”

  Maerishka rolled her eyes, not even bothering to listen to her options. They wouldn’t bring her anything inappropriate, so which one she chose didn’t really matter. Randomly picking the remaining details, she got rid of everyone as quickly as possible. This was going to be a very long day.

  * * *

  Kern thanked the shopkeeper for his help and hoisted his bag of supplies onto his back. He could be gone some time, indefinitely if things went well, and he needed to prepare for whatever he may encounter. That meant, food, new weapons and magical items and a few healing potions for good measure.

  “Kern,” a man in the black and blue uniform of the Flame Guard flagged him down. A human with sandy brown hair, Kern recognized him immediately. His name was Thomas. Most of the guards worked alone the majority of the time, but they worked one job together a few months back. The two of them hit it off from the start, working well together. One of the few humans in the guard, and a quick learner able to keep up with elves who boasted a century or more of service under their belts, he was hard to forget. Taking a seat at an outdoor café, they ordered drinks. The man waited for the waitress to leave, then leaned forward, lowering his tone.” I wanted to give you a heads up. I heard one of the queen’s assistants asking about you this morning. He wanted to know where you were. He didn’t say much but it didn’t sound like a regular summons for a job. It sounded serious.”

  Kern nodded, downing some of his drink. “That happened faster than I thought. He must have talked to someone after all. I must go.” He stood. “Thank you for the warning.”

  Thomas followed after him, unwilling to let it go at that. “So you are in trouble? Tell me what is going on. Maybe I can help.”

  “No, I don’t want to get you involved.”

  “Kern,” he admonished. We are brothers. Let me help you.”

  Kern stopped. Members of the guard often referred to each other as brothers, but it affected him differently now, knowing he actually had brothers he never met. “There is one thing you can do. I need to leave the city, and I need someone to protect my uncle while I’m gone. I’ve already asked a friend to watch him, but given this news, she may not be enough, and I don’t want her to get hurt because of me either. If you could keep an eye on them, make sure they stay safe until I can get back, it would mean a lot to me.”

  “I swear I will keep them safe until your return.”

  “Thank you.” Clasping arms, they bid each other farewell.

  * * *

  “Kern!” Marcy ran through the crowds, bumping into several people who couldn’t have cared less. They were too busy drinking, dancing and rushing to see the parade to notice a single elven woman running by. She counted herself lucky she saw him in the midst of all this madness. After Kern left her last night, she looked around everywhere for him, without success. Just when she was about to give up and grab some lunch, she saw him talking with another guardsman. Three blocks later, she still couldn’t seem to catch up to him. He was moving like a man on a mission, oblivious to all the chaos of the Solstice activities. Down one of the side streets the first of the many Summer Solstice parades was about to begin. It was the largest and most popular, especially among tourists who tended to attend more of the early week activities. In a few days, most of the tourists would give way to the unbridled euphoria of what was for all intents and purposes a patriotic and religious holiday. They celebrated the founding of the city, but they also celebrated their patron god, Venerith. Known as the Corrupter by those outside Suriax, Venerith was the god whose teachings inspired Veritan in the creation of the city.

  Stumbling, Marcy barely avoided colliding with a mid-air acrobat dangling from strips of blue and gold fabric, suspended from tree limbs. Mumbling an apology she knew went unheard, she finally caught sight of Kern again. So intent was she on her quarry, she didn’t see the racing hound barreling toward her. Lucky for her, Kern did. Running at full speed, he pushed her out of the way. The hound ran past close enough for her to feel its tail whip around. Its handlers ran frantically after it, yelling in futility for him to stop. Her heart in her throat, she could feel her pulse pounding through her veins. Then she felt Kern’s broad chest pressed against her body and her pulse was pounding for a different reason.

  “Why did you follow me?” His voice was husky, his lips next to her ear. Given the loudness of the crowd, it was the only way to be heard without yelling.

  “I was worried about you. The way you left, I wasn’t sure if you planned on coming back.” Kern looked down. “You don’t plan on coming back, do you?”

  “I don’t know. The way things are going I don’t know what is going to happen.”

  “What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

  Kern took a step back, letting his arms drop from around her. “It’s complicated.”

  “Does it have anything to do with that man you killed yesterday? Is someone after you for it?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that. I mean this all kind of started with him, but there’s no one out for retribution . . . that I know of.” Great, one more thing he could worry about. Oh, well, if someone wanted him dead for Cornerbluff’s killing it would most likely have happened before now. The man had no living family, and from what Kern learned when tracking him down, most people weren’t too fond of him. So, chances were, no one really minded his death. But, he could be wrong. Nothing he could do about it now. He’d deal with that if the situation arose.

  “So, what is going on?”

  Kern looked around briefly at the crowd. No one appeared to be listening, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t overhear their conversation and tell the wrong people. “Come with me.” Taking her arm, Kern led them through the throngs of merry goers to a small park. Away from most of the shops and inns, there weren’t many people on this side of town. Still, he felt a little nervous at the prospect of discussing his current situation aloud, as though speaking it would make it true, make it all real. Up until now, a part of him still felt this was all a dream he would soon wake up from. But were he to share his knowledge with someone else, that delusion would be lost to him. No more pretending. He would have to deal with the reality of who he was, never to return to his former self.

  They sat in a small gazebo, Marcy quietly waiting for him to speak. “I’m not a hundred twenty five years old. I’m actually t
wo hundred and thirty two.”

  “You are a three quarters elf?” she guessed from his ability to pass for much younger than his actual age.

  “Yes.” My father was a half elf, but my mother was a full elf.

  “Why would you lie about such a thing?”

  “I did so at my uncle’s instruction, though I didn’t understand why until last night. He was trying to protect me. There were people who would want me dead if they knew my identity. The man I killed last night stole a locket that held a portrait of my mother. If the wrong people saw it, my uncle and I could both be in danger. I need to talk to some people who may be able to help keep him safe. I just need you to keep an eye on him until I can get him out of here.”

  “Where are you going? If he is in danger, shouldn’t you take him with you? What if someone comes after him while you’re gone?”

  “I’m going to Aleria. That’s where he’s from, where my family is from. Where I need to go . . . it’s going to be hard enough getting myself in. There’s no way I could get us both in, and I don’t know what to expect or what kind of reception we will receive. If things go badly there I don’t want him caught in the middle of it. And I don’t want him to get his hopes up or get his feelings hurt if things don’t work out as I hope. I know I don’t have a lot of time to play around with. I just pray it’s enough.”

  “Why do I feel there is a lot you aren’t telling me?”

  He touched his hand to her face and smiled wistfully. “You are the only person I trust telling even this much to. Besides, if you knew any more it would put you at risk. If anything happens use this ring to contact me.” He handed her a ring from his bag, closing her fingers around it. “It has a communication spell cast on it, part of a matching set. As long as I have the other one, I’ll hear if you call me.”