She blinked at him. “We’ve been down to one alterni? When?”
“Well…” Roman scowled, multiplying the folds of his chin. “The Chronicles of Kings don’t tell the full story. There were certain kings who committed suicide for reasons bigger than guilt or madness. When all versions of an alterni are killed, we’re defenseless to stop the rifts. So, certain kings sacrificed themselves to make sure we didn’t lose the war after their alterni endi died.”
Ada understood. “When a king dies, the cycle starts over with a new king. A new origini comes, saving us. The kings committed suicide to restart a new cycle of alterni?”
“Yes.” Roman was surprised it felt good to come clean.
“How many times have we stood on this brink?”
“Esme is the seventh alterni endi.”
Ada’s eyes widened. She paused and gazed at the nearest lamp. “Does Owen know about this?”
“Yes, but I’ve encouraged the king to have faith in Esme and put the suicidal solution out of mind.”
“You encouraged him? That’s surprisingly warm of you, Roman.”
He scowled. “I love and serve the king as my predecessors have loved and served their kings. I know you think I have more love for the spindlox in my lab than real people, but I’ve served three generations of Lords. I assure you, I was quite earnest that Owen not kill himself.”
“I hope he listens.” Ada looked worried. “I’ve had my differences with the man, but…”
“He’ll be okay. I’ve observed our king and the current alterni, and fortunately I think Owen’s found something to live for. I don’t believe he’ll sacrifice himself unless it’s the only way.” Roman sighed. “Then again, Owen’s carried much guilt about his alterni. It doesn’t help that his father had a perfect record and kept his origini alive.”
Ada nodded in thought. “And now Owen is only the seventh king in history who’s down to one?”
“Yes.”
Ada’s dark brow wrinkled in suspicion. “Is there more to how the alterni died? If you’re telling me alterni endi aren’t merely a theory… Is the rest of the legend true?”
Roman scowled, which gave Ada her answer.
The old woman sighed, then looked at the ceiling mural in thought. “This changes everything.”
“Yes.”
“Does the king know the truth?”
“No.” Roman looked at his robes to avoid Ada’s frown at him.
Her tone hardened. “I understand why this has been left as legend for centuries, but we’re losing this war. Shouldn’t you tell the king everything he needs to know about our enemies? And tell Esme, our alterni endi and last hope?”
“This is mind-bending, reality shaking, faith-destroying information, Ada. I need the king and Esme to be strong and sane enough to accomplish their tasks. It’d be a disaster if they learned the truth and it broke them.”
“In other words, you’re not telling them.”
“No. The Master Conjuri for centuries have spun these truths as legend, and I see the wisdom of that course. We will not tell the king.”
“How can they fight the enemy without all the facts? This is foolishness, Roman!”
“If it becomes necessary, I’ll reconsider.”
“If it becomes necessary, it might already be too late!”
“We’ll hold our course for the time being.” Roman debated before looking her in the eye. “I swear to you, Ada, I’m now telling you everything. Owen already ordered me to show Esme the Chronicle of Alterni Endi, and I’ll change the spell to give you access as well. I’ll need your help in the days ahead to teach Esme. An alterni endi’s magic is beyond what you or I can perform, but you can guide Esme using the Chronicle. She must learn to harness her power.”
Ada looked far more satisfied, and she gave a quick nod.
Roman hesitated a moment longer, then dropped his gaze to the folds of his robes. “Also, I’ll show you the books intended only for Master Conjuri. They hold the truth about all things legend – the malevolenci, the origini, the birth of our worlds, everything. The days ahead are likely to be fraught with peril, and if you’re to train the alterni endi, you need to know as much as I.”
When Roman looked up, Ada’s eyes were wide with surprise at this. “Thank you, Roman.”
He scowled. “Don’t thank me too much. I’ve lied to you for decades.”
Ada nodded, then gazed around the room, again in her own thoughts. Roman studied her and continued to debate with himself.
I am the Master Conjuri. Ada will do as I say. Still, is she right? Telling the king the truth… No, I need him strong. Kings have gone mad before, and Owen’s already troubled. If I told him the truth, it might break him.
“It seems wrong,” said Ada, “not telling Esme who’s responsible for killing her counterparts. What an odd thing – to learn there are hundreds of versions of yourself, only to lose them.”
Roman nodded. “When the summono failed, Esme looked quite sad. But she recovered quickly. She’s brave.”
“I don’t like to have favorites among the alterni, but you’re right. We should’ve picked this Esme at an earlier summono. Few alt-Esmes were half the woman this one is. And that damned fairy…”
“Back then, there was no way to know this Esme was special. We picked the best versions at the time. And there was always an Esme who seemed a better pick than our current one.”
Ada frowned. “I worry about her perfect memory. Does she remember she was summoned before and we didn’t choose her? That’d be difficult to get over, I imagine. Certainly a blow to the ego, if not downright traumatizing.”
“No, she doesn’t seem to remember. The luck of the jinn was with us there.”
“Does the king realize she was summoned before?”
“I don’t believe so, no. Normally, we have so many alt-worlds to choose from that we harvest a completely new group of alterni with each summono. I don’t think it’s occurred to Owen that our fewer options meant we kept seeing the same alterni group.” Roman sighed and smoothed the sleeve of his robe. “It’s not something I want to burden him with.”
Ada paused. “Yes, the king must stay strong. This Esme is the alterni endi. If she fails…”
Roman tried to smile. “A few alterni endi held back the malevolenci, you know. Not all hope is lost, for us or our king.”
Ada took a breath and gave him a hopeful nod.
“For now…” Roman returned his gaze to the books on the table. “Our ancestors learned much about the malevolenci. Let’s go over these records again. Same as always, we can surely use what those before us knew.”
When she didn’t respond, Roman looked up.
Ada made a face at him and lost her patience. “The Chronicle of Alterni Endi, Roman! For goodness sake, if you expect me to help, show me everything! Let’s start with the Chronicle of Alterni Endi and the rest of your private Master Conjuri stash too, if you please.”
“Quite right.” Roman shook his jowls at his folly and rose from the table. “I’ll fetch them at once.”
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About the Author
Sunshine Somerville is from the beachy side of Michigan. She has a degree in English Literature and self-published her first book at the ripe old age of nine. Currently, she lives in Missouri with her husband, who moved there for work and seemed to think Sunshine should go with him.
The Kota Series is a Science Fantasy epic based on childhood obsessions with X-Men, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia, and A Wrinkle in Time.
The Alt-World Chronicles is Sunshine’s new Urban Fantasy series, ins
pired by a recurring weird dream and a brainstorming session in the shower.
A Fairly Fairy Tale is Sunshine’s first MG Fantasy book. She got the idea from her family’s crest, which portrays a dragon shooting flames from both ends, and from a little girl whose second favorite word is farts.
www.SunshineSomerville.com
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