Old memories surfaced of my childhood spent in London. I’d never gone through the London allegiance ceremony myself, because the firestorm had made us flee to New York when I was eleven years old, and one of the conditions of London joining the alliance was that my brother and I would move to the Resistance to be with our father.
My brother was four years older than me though. I remembered standing watching as Seamus took his oath of allegiance. Blood had been used in that ceremony too, symbolizing the fact that breaking your oath was punishable by death. Technically, my brother hadn’t broken his oath of allegiance when he left the alliance. Ice had released him from his oath to London, and he had never taken one to the Resistance, but I still counted Seamus as the worst of traitors.
That thought gave me the answer to the mystery of the tiny circles among the handprints. A man swore loyalty to his division for life, but if a woman married outside her division, then she was allowed to leave and join her partner. Those ring shapes were from the wedding rings of women leaving Queens Island, and again the powerful symbol of blood had been used, showing the women were released from their oaths of allegiance and allowed to join a new division.
I realized Raeni had reached the security door to the Banqueting Hall. As she paused to open it, I forced the thoughts of blood oaths and my brother out of my mind, and focused on the present.
“You go through the Resistance wing to Reception,” said Raeni crisply. “I’ll have to go back into the Queens Island wing, and wait until Major leads our people into Reception before going downstairs to follow them.”
I shook my head. “You’d better not go through Queens Island to reach Reception. Major might leave a guard downstairs to block your way.”
Raeni gave me a startled look. “Are you suggesting taking me through the Resistance wing, Blaze? I appreciate the offer, but entering Reception through the Resistance curtain would be potentially embarrassing for both Donnell and me.”
“I wasn’t suggesting you went through the Resistance wing, but through Sanctuary.” I pointed across the Banqueting Hall to the Sanctuary steel door. “Someone has cut through the welding, so the door opens again.”
Raeni crossed the room, studied the door carefully, and then slid it open. “When did Donnell order this door opened up again, and why?”
“Donnell doesn’t know anything about this,” I said. “I only discovered the door was open when I was waiting for Madra. I’m planning to tell Donnell about it later.”
“Then I’ll keep it secret for now,” said Raeni. “When I appear from Sanctuary, people will probably assume I sneaked across Reception to hide there earlier.”
I nodded. “Good luck with defeating Major.”
Raeni smiled. “Alliance officers have a duty to act with impartial fairness to everyone in the alliance. You shouldn’t be taking my side against Major, Blaze.”
“As deputy leader of the alliance, I remain neutral on division leadership challenges,” I said. “As a person, I loathe Major.”
Raeni laughed, went through the door to Sanctuary, and slid it shut from the other side. I went back to open the door to the Resistance wing, and was about to go through it when I remembered I was still wearing the borrowed black coat and gloves from Queens Island.
I hastily pulled them off and dumped them on a nearby chair, then turned off the lights in the Banqueting Hall and went through the Resistance door, closing it behind me. Conscious that breakfast would be starting at any moment, I sprinted along the corridor to the main staircase, before slowing my pace slightly to go down the flight of steps. I needed to get downstairs as quickly as possible, but falling and injuring myself would be disastrous.
As I hurried down the staircase, I was conscious of the plainness of the walls beside me, mentally comparing them to the walls in the Queens Island wing. I reached the bottom of the stairs, and took a moment to catch my breath before walking through the curtain into Reception. A swift look around showed me that the Queens Island corner was deserted, but all the other divisions were present in their areas of the room.
Donnell was standing just in front of me, staring at the Queens Island corner. When he caught sight of me, he frowned.
“Chaos weeping, Blaze. You were supposed to be here at first light. Where have you been?”
I spoke in a cautiously low voice. “I’ve been talking to Raeni.”
“What? How could ...?” Donnell broke off his sentence. “No, you can tell me how you managed that later. Is there anything we can do to help Raeni win this leadership challenge?”
“No. We must let Raeni deal with this herself.” I pointed to the Queens Island curtain. “Look, Major’s coming now.”
Major and Nero led the way through the curtain, with the rest of Queens Island trailing behind them. As soon as they were all in Reception, Major stepped up onto a chair. All the conversations in the room abruptly stopped, and everyone turned to look at him.
“Queens Island has suffered a terrible loss with Rogue’s death.” Major gazed around the room, making sure he had the attention of the whole alliance. “A blood debt is owed to us. We need strong, experienced leadership to make sure that debt is paid in full.”
He paused. “Raeni was absent during the troubles in the night. Some argued that absence was forgivable because she was following custom, honouring the fallen by holding vigil over Rogue’s coffin. I agreed, though I felt that insisting on holding vigil alone from dusk to dawn was excessive when Queens Island urgently needed its leader.”
He gave a theatrical sigh. “Raeni chose to ignore the events during the night and focus on her grief. When dawn came, her vigil was ended, and I waited for her to come to resume her leadership duties, but she didn’t appear. I sent Lion to plead with her to come, telling her how much Queens Island needed her, but she refused, insisting on staying weeping over Rogue’s coffin in her weakness.”
Major shook his head. “I was loyal to Raeni, but she is overwhelmed by sorrow and has abandoned her duties. The leadership position of Queens Island is vacant. Who do you choose to be your new leader?”
“We choose you to be our new leader, Major,” cried Nero instantly. “We cannot suffer under another novice leader like Raeni. You led us before, and you must lead us again. You are the experienced leader that Queens Island needs.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Major for Queens Island leader!” shouted Nero. “Major is the experienced leader we need. Major for Queens Island leader!”
I heard a groan from Donnell. “If either Major or Nero says the word experienced again, I’m going to vomit,” he muttered. “Raeni has only led Queens Island for a week, but she’s already a better leader than Major. She cares about her people, while Major only cares about himself.”
Major raised his arms above his head. “I will be your leader. I will defend you from Manhattan. I will make sure the blood debt for Rogue’s death is paid in full. Queens Island, gather on me!”
A new voice shouted. “Raeni leads Queens Island!”
Major glared contemptuously at Destin. “Raeni isn’t here, and you can’t defend her leadership without her.”
“Raeni is here,” said Destin, and pointed across the room.
There were startled murmurs as everyone turned to look at the dramatic, black-clad figure standing in front of the Sanctuary curtain. Raeni strode towards the Queens Island corner of the room, climbed onto a chair, and then stepped onto a table. She pulled down the hood of her coat, freeing her long black hair to tumble loose around her dark face.
“Raeni is here!” she cried. “Major lied when he claimed he was loyal to me. He lied when he said I’d abandoned my duties. He lied about sending Lion to plead with me to come down from the roof and lead you. The truth is that he sent Lion to guard the roof door, trapping me up there so I couldn’t reach Reception.”
She gestured at Major. “Look at the liar’s face now. He claimed he wanted me here, but you can see how disconcerted he is that I’ve dealt with Lion and
reached Reception.”
Major had let his arms drop to his sides in shock, but now he straightened up and shouted defiantly. “Raeni is distraught and making false accusations out of grief. She’s clearly too weak to cope with the strain of leadership. I have to help her by taking the burden from her shoulders.”
There was a burst of laughter from Raeni. “Major’s been caught out in his lies about me abandoning my leadership duties. Now he’s changing his story to claim I’m too weak to cope with them, and he’s generously helping me by taking my leadership position.”
“I’m acting in your best interests, Raeni,” said Major. “I’m helping you by giving you the time you need to recover from your bereavement.”
“You aren’t helping me, Major,” said Raeni. “You’re helping yourself, the way that you always do. Either acknowledge me as Queens Island leader in front of the whole alliance, or admit this is nothing but a hostile leadership challenge.”
“Very well,” Major spat the words at her. “This is a hostile leadership challenge. In times like these, Queens Island needs a leader with experience, not a total novice. Queens Island needs a strong leader, not someone who weakly sobs over coffins when our people are clashing with the dregs of Manhattan in Reception. Queens Island needs me!”
“I was listening to your speech from behind the Sanctuary curtain, Major,” said Raeni. “You keep talking about your previous experience as leader of Queens Island, but we all remember exactly what sort of leader you were.”
She paused. “We remember your brutality and your favouritism. We remember the way you’d bring false accusations against people so you could unjustly punish them. Above all, we remember how deeply you were involved in Cage’s plots.”
Her voice rose in anger. “You claimed in front of the whole alliance that you’d make sure the blood debt for Rogue’s death was paid in full. Those words were an insult to Rogue’s memory, and to the honour of Queens Island, because everyone here knows that you’re guilty of conspiring with Rogue’s murderer.”
“I never willingly supported Cage,” said Major. “I was manipulated and intimidated by him, but the same is true of half the people in this alliance.”
“But you claim that you’re strong and I’m weak,” said Raeni. “Why is it you were manipulated and intimidated into serving Cage, when I had the courage to refuse his demands?”
She shook her head. “You claim to be strong, but you don’t understand what real strength is, or recognize it when it stands in front of you. Let me tell you about real strength, Major. Real strength is holding vigil over the murdered body of the person you loved most in this world, being broken by despair at your loss, but still having the intelligence and fortitude to use the situation to lure your enemies into a trap.”
She smiled. “Yesterday evening, Wall asked me why Major, Nero, and Lion still belonged to Queens Island. I answered that my hands were tied by the alliance rules on division leadership changes. Those rules grant immunity from division punishments to people supporting the wrong side in a leadership challenge, so they have the chance to live peacefully under the rule of the winning leader. A person can only claim the benefit of immunity once though, and you and your allies have already used yours.”
Raeni gave Major a contemptuous look. “No honourable member of Queens Island would attempt a leadership challenge when we were respecting the fallen, but I knew that you didn’t have a shred of honour in your body. I held vigil on the roof, letting you, Nero, and Lion plot how best to overthrow me. I let you organize fake clashes between yourselves and your Cage supporting friends in Manhattan division to prepare for making a leadership challenge. I let you make that leadership challenge in front of the whole alliance.”
Her voice rose to a shout. “I did that because I know which of us is truly strong and which of us is weak. I drew you into showing your lies, treachery and dishonour to Queens Island and the whole of the alliance. I lured you into the trap of challenging me, because I knew that you’d fail, and then I would be free under the alliance rules to give you the punishment you deserve.”
She raised her arms. “Now everyone knows what you are and what I am. You are a weak, dishonourable liar, while I have strength and integrity beyond your comprehension. Queens Island, gather on me!”
Major hastily raised his arms too. “Queens Island needs a man not a woman to lead it. Queens Island, gather on me!”
I watched a mass movement, as most of the people of Queens Island went to cluster around Raeni’s table. The remaining ones hesitated, glanced at Major, and then slowly headed to join the rest. Finally, only Nero stood by Major’s table.
Raeni lowered her arms and threw a triumphant look at Major. “I lead Queens Island division. You have had the benefit of immunity once. You were given your chance to live peacefully under my rule. You chose to challenge me instead, so now I am free to give you any permitted division punishment for your rebellion.”
Major’s shoulders were slumped in defeat. “What is my punishment?”
Raeni put on an act of considering this, but it was clear that she’d already decided the answer. “You arranged for a false charge of theft to be made against Rogue, so he was tied to the punishment post to be used as bait for falling stars. It’s fitting for you to suffer the same punishment. A few hours on a suitably mild day will suffice for your supporters, Nero and Lion, but you will be tied to the punishment post from dawn until dusk.”
She shrugged. “There will be the standard arrangement of course, with men standing by to kill the falling stars before they succeed in smothering you, but I expect you’ll suffer a huge number of attacks before the day ends.”
“Falling star punishments are always for a limited number of attacks,” said Major.
Raeni shook her head. “Falling star punishments are usually for a limited number of attacks, but they can also be for any fixed length of time up to a full day. I’ve checked the alliance rules very carefully, Major. I know every punishment I can give you, and I’m looking forward to punishing every crime you commit in future. I’m sure there’ll be a host of them, because you’re utterly unworthy of the honour of belonging to Queens Island.”
Major had a calculating look on his face. “If I’m so unworthy of belonging to Queens Island, then why don’t you just discard me?”
Raeni smiled. “Because I won’t let you escape that easily, Major. The only way you will leave Queens Island is to break your oath of allegiance.”
“Which would make me a renegade and give you the right to kill me,” said Major.
Raeni’s smile widened. “Exactly. So you will face the falling stars, Major, or you will die. Now get down from that chair!”
Major sullenly stepped down to the floor, and Destin moved to stand pointedly next to him.
Raeni turned to face the room again. “Rogue and I fought many battles together during his lifetime. We were the first to support Blaze when she called general justice against Cage. We took the leadership of Queens Island from Major. Now Rogue and I have fought a final battle together while he was lying in his coffin.”
She paused before shouting at the top of her voice. “Rogue’s body is dead. His spirit lives on in Queens Island.”
“We are Queens Island!” the crowd around her table cried the response. “We are Queens Island! We are Queens Island!”
There was what felt like a shockingly quiet few seconds after that, then Donnell spoke in a loud but calm voice. “The weather isn’t suitable for either holding a funeral or hunting down Cage today, but there’s plenty of work to do here at Parliament House. We’ve got a vast amount of falling star meat soaking in barrels of water in the outbuildings. The meat will all need rinsing, chopping, and boiling, while the barrels will have to be emptied and scrubbed out before being used to soak more falling stars.”
Everyone groaned. Scrubbing out those barrels was a ghastly job because of the stench of the falling star digestive juices.
“Queens Island is in mournin
g,” continued Donnell, “so I’m asking all the other divisions to allow them to eat breakfast first and excuse them from work today.”
“Manhattan agrees,” said Wall swiftly, “and I’m volunteering Shark to help scrub the falling star barrels. I feel that someone with his name is well suited to work involving water.”
There were shouts of laughter from around the room, and then the members of Queens Island headed across to form a queue at the food tables.
Donnell leaned to whisper in my ear. “I’m sure the division leaders will want a few words with me. Let’s go and pretend to look out at the weather.”
I followed him to the glass front wall of Reception, and we stood watching the snow falling outside. It was only a minute before Ice strolled across to join us, and seconds later Wall and Ghost arrived.
“I can’t believe Raeni was cold enough to use Rogue’s death to trap Major,” said Wall.
“Rogue worked hard to help Raeni gain her leadership position,” I said. “She wasn’t going to waste his efforts by letting Major steal it back from her.”
Ice nodded. “As Raeni said, she has true strength.”
“Raeni isn’t just strong,” said Ghost. “She’s terrifying. I almost feel sorry for Major.”
“I don’t,” said Wall. “When he’s tied to the punishment post, I’m going to get myself a comfortable chair, and sit here looking out through the glass wall to cheer every falling star that attacks him.”
“Raeni is coming to join us,” I warned them.
Raeni walked up and spoke in a heavily formal voice. “Every division must work together to hunt down Cage. That hunt obviously has to be led by Donnell and Blaze, since they are the only ones with advanced weapons.”
She paused. “Blaze told me about the theory Cage is using the subway tunnels. I feel that none of us should ask how she and Donnell are going to investigate that possibility, or for details of their other plans. They’ll have the best chance of success if we allow them to work in total secrecy, and only tell us what’s happening when they need our help. Agreed?”
Scavenger Blood Page 17