by CM Raymond
It had been almost a decade since anyone of the upper crust gave him trouble. After Saul, Arcadia’s first Governor died, there were a few who blamed Adrien—who wanted vengeance. But Adrien dealt with them swiftly and severely, destroying not only the rebellious nobles, but their families as well—secretly of course. But it served to keep the rest of the nobility in line.
Perhaps it’s time I shed some more noble blood, he thought, to remind them who is in charge. The question is, who would be foolish enough to turn traitor on me?
Adrien looked down at the pitiful man and smiled. “Thank you, Francis. You have helped keep Arcadia safe. I will be forever grateful.”
The shadow of a smile washed across the man’s face. He looked up into the eyes of the Chancellor, believing he was a savior. “Thank you, sir. Thank you.” He exhaled, and the tension left his shoulders.
“Unfortunately, you have seen me here,” Adrien replied. “And now that I know how easily you talk under pressure... well, that’s just a risk I can’t take.”
Before the man could make sense of Adrien’s words, Alexandra had pulled her knife.
While blood pooled on the dirt floor, Adrien reached a conclusion. There was a traitor in his midst—aiding Ezekiel and his Unlawful scum. Adrien needed to find them, and when he did, he wouldn’t need Alexandra’s services to make them wish they had never been born.
CHAPTER SIX
“She lives,” Cassie said, as Hannah walked into the dorm room.
Hannah and Cassie had been roommates at the Academy for nearly a month, but they had spent precious little time together. Playing the role of a noblewoman, faking as a student, and trying to save the world had left Hannah with precious little time for slumber parties and late night gossip. Not to mention that she spent almost every night at the mansion.
Hannah crossed the room and dropped a pile of books on her desk. She sat and offered her roommate an enormous smile.
“Cassie! I know,” she said in her noble voice. “I must be the shittiest roommate anyone has ever had in the history of the Academy. I’ve just been so busy, you know, being new and all.”
Cassie crossed the room and dropped into a chair across from Hannah. She eyed the leather volumes Hannah had just placed there.
“No problem, Deborah,” Cassie said. “I get it. And… truth be told, I kind of wanted a single anyway. Now, I get the best of both worlds.” She pointed at the desk. “It looks like somebody’s been busy.”
Hannah sighed. “You guys have grown up with this stuff. Growing up in the country, I kind of taught myself magic. Let’s just say I’m feeling a bit behind.”
Cassie smiled. “Doesn’t help that you got paired with that Gregory for lab. Damn fool wouldn’t even be here if his dad wasn’t chief engineer. And he is so mundane, if you know what I mean.”
Hannah forced a laugh. “Oh! I do.” But she didn’t.
“Half the reason I’m at the Academy is to meet a man. You know, ring by spring and all.” Cassie laughed and Hannah followed along, even though she had no freaking clue what the rich girl was talking about. “I have my eye on a few. I mean, a first year would be fine. And of course, there is Morgan, but we all know we’re better off finding an upperclassman.”
Hannah rolled her eyes and tossed her strawberry blond hair. “Way better off!”
“Right?”
The girls giggled, and Hannah thought she might be getting the hang of the noble gig.
Cassie leaned in and whispered, even though they were alone in the room. “How about you? Have your eye on someone?”
Hannah blushed—or at least to Cassie it looked like she did. A little extra push of mental magic could do wonders. “Well, there is one boy… I mean man. But I think he’s out of my league and might be spoken for.”
“What! You’ve got to tell me!”
“No,” Hannah said, “I can’t. It’s too embarrassing.”
“Come on. You have to!”
“OK, if you promise not to tell anyone.” Hannah covered her face with her hands. “I don’t believe I’m going to say this,” she squealed.
“Holy hell,” Cassie shouted. “Deborah, you’re killing me.”
Hannah dropped her hands from her face. Her face was now redder than her eyes were when she practiced magic. “OK. It’s Professor August.”
Cassie froze. Her face became sheet white. After what felt like an hour, her bottom lip shook. “Holy shit… You’re joking.”
Hannah pictured the rotund jolly professor and lost it laughing. “Yeah. I am.”
Cassie screamed. “I hate you!” The two girls doubled over laughing as the bells outside their room rang six o’clock.
“Shit. I’m late to meet Gregory.” She rolled her eyes. “Gross. I’ll see you later. Let’s find some time to catch up.”
“Def!” Cassie said as Hannah left the room.
****
The Wren was a little café that sat between the Academy and the Noble Quarter. Its patrons were students who should be cramming for exams and noblewomen trying to find some excuse to get out of their enormous homes. On the menu were overpriced pastries and teas, which were allegedly shipped in from far off lands, but Hannah swore they were weeds dug just outside of the city gates.
She slid into a chair at a table in the back corner. Gregory sat opposite her, finishing his tea.
“Hey, you’re late,” he said.
“Yeah, sorry. Had to play roommate for a little bit. Afraid Cassie is going to get suspicious that I’m hardly ever there. Might need to concoct a better story before too long.”
“You think she’s rebellion material?” Gregory asked.
Hannah laughed. “I can’t imagine her doing anything that would threaten her nails. But if we ever needed to know which Hunters had crushes on which Guards, I’m sure Cassie would have the intel.”
Hannah looked down at her tea and felt the porcelain cup.
“I’m sure it’s cold,” Gregory said. “Ordered it nearly an hour ago. Let me go get you another.”
Hannah grinned. “No need.” She wrapped her fingers around the mug. Her eyes flashed red, and in a second, the tea was piping hot and kicking off steam. Hannah wiggled her fingers. “You really should get the hang of this shit—incredibly helpful sometimes.”
He laughed. “It’s the little things, isn’t it?”
“As long as I can keep from lighting my roommate on fire… or any of those other douche nuggets. I mean honestly, Gregory, how did you grow up with these people. They are maddening.”
Gregory shrugged. “Maybe it’s why I never quite fit in. But they’re not all that bad.”
“Sure. I just haven’t met any of the good ones yet… Except for you, that is.”
The two sat for a while, enjoying their tea and talking about nothing of any consequence. They were supposed to be plotting their break in at Gregory’s home, but it felt good for Hannah to just be a person for once.
Unfortunately, normalcy could only reign for so long in her new reality. She finally asked, “So, what’s up? Why’d you need to see me so urgently?”
Gregory stared at an envelope that had sat on the table since Hannah had gotten there.
“Hello, Irth to Gregory, what’s going on?”
“I figured out how we’re going to steal my dad’s blueprints,” he said.
“Perfect!” Hannah nearly shouted. An older patron at a nearby table scowled in their direction. Hannah leaned in a whispered. “What is it?”
Gregory grinned sheepishly. “You aren’t going to like it.”
“Oh? It can’t be worse than fighting the remnant.”
“I’m not so sure,” he said as he waved the envelope. “This, my dear Deborah, is an invitation.”
A sick feeling suddenly settled in Hannah’s stomach. “An invitation to what?”
“The annual Winter Ball. My parent’s throw one every year at their house in the Quarter. Any chance you know how to dance?”
****
The
walk back from The Wren to the mansion was virtually silent. Hannah was still fuming over the idea of having to go to a noble’s ball. For many of the kids growing up in Queen’s Boulevard, a fancy party with fancy food and fancy people may have been a dream come true. For Hannah, it was a nightmare. She realized that, in so many ways, she was made for the Boulevard. Before becoming one of them, Hannah despised the noble folks who had everything and didn’t realize it.
Now that she had gotten to know them, she had considered homicide more than once.
She had told Ezekiel that she would do anything to avenge her brother’s death, but considering the fancy dress she would have to wear, and an evening of dancing and talking shit with other shit talkers, she was starting to wonder if she had maybe met her limit.
The house was empty when they arrived, except for Eleanor and Maddie who were sitting in the foyer.
“He’s out back,” Eleanor said as she saw Hannah come in.
Hannah felt flushed. She pretended to not know what she was talking about. “Who’s out back?”
Eleanor smiled. “You’re a bad liar, dear. My son who you’ve been drooling over since you learned to walk. He’s out training with that rearick.”
Maddie giggled. “He’s getting his ass kicked.”
Eleanor’s eyes widened. “Language, Maddie. I thought you were supposed to be the one teaching Hannah how to speak properly.”
Maddie shrugged. “I teach her, she teaches me.”
Hannah smiled at her young friend. “Damn straight.”
Gregory and Maddie laughed as a flustered Eleanor got up from her seat and shooed Hannah out the back door. “If you’re going to talk like a rearick then you might as well go train with them,” she scolded.
“An excellent idea, Ele,” Hannah said as she turned and left the house.
It was a cool afternoon, though still warm by Arcadian winter standards. Sal was outside waiting for her. The backyard at dusk was about the only time and place he could stretch his wings. “Don’t worry, little guy,” she said as she leaned down to scratch under his chin. “We’ll be out of this place soon enough, and I promise, I’ll find a place where you can soar to your heart’s content.” The dragon seemed to smile and nuzzled up against her leg. His strength nearly knocked her over. He wasn’t such a little guy after all. She would need to come up with a new pet name for him.
Parker was seated on the grass with a long sword between his outstretched legs.
“Nice weapon,” Hannah said, her eyes wide.
“What can I say, the gods have blessed me,” Parker said with a laugh. “But thank you, my lady.”
“I was speaking about the broad sword, not your little butter knife,” she said with a wink. “And enough of the ‘my lady’ bullshit.”
It was already near dusk, and the magitech lights flickered on, washing the yard in a gentle blue. Hannah could now see that Parker was covered in dirt and dripping with sweat.
She sat down next to him, and Sal laid in between.
“It’s a damned longsword, not a broadsword,” Karl grunted. “You kids have too much to learn in too little time.” He was standing next to a row of practice weapons, looking them over. And unlike Parker, the rearick looked like he had spent the day lounging in bed.
“Doesn’t make a damn difference what I call it, as long as I know to avoid the sharp side,” Hannah struck back. “And I thought you said we weren’t ready for the dangerous weapons. How did you put it? ‘Ye need to walk before ye can run, lass’,” Hannah said in her best Karl impression.
Karl took a knee and leaned on his hammer. “Aye, ye can talk like me, but I’d prefer it if you could fight like me. I had hoped to take more time teaching you the basics, but it’s a luxury we don’t have, lass. War waits for no man, and if I’m taking this toddler out of the city gates, he best learn to fight… or else. A pack of rogues or even a wild boar won’t fall for his juggling tricks.”
“I don’t know,” Parker said, still out of breath. “They worked alright on a lycanthrope once.”
Hannah smiled. “If I remember correctly, that thing had you hiding in a tree like a cat running from a dog.”
Karl grinned. “Maybe that’ll be yer strategy then—run and hide when the fighting starts. I’ve seen mindless remnant use weapons more gracefully than this asshat. We’ve run through all sorts of weapons: swords, axes, hammers—even a whip. None of them seemed a natural fit. I’m sure we’d get you there in time with any of them, but since we’re off tomorrow, I think we’ll put the sword to rest before you cut yer own nuts off.”
The rearick picked up the long sword and placed it with the other weapons. Before walking back, he paused. A spear lying off to the side caught his attention. Eyeing up the weapons dimensions and build, he nodded and tossed it in Parker’s direction. Parker grabbed it out of thin air and pushed himself to his feet.
“Hard to go wrong with a spear,” Karl said. “Maybe we’ll just stick to it for now.”
“What’s so great about a spear?” Hannah asked.
“First of all, it gives you reach,” Karl said. “So, the nasties can’t get in close on ya. And if they do happen to get in close, yer spinning around like a damned baboon might just keep yer ass out of trouble.”
Parker eyed the weapon, turning it over in his hands. “And what’s the second reason?”
“Any damned fool can thrust a spear,” Karl said. “Maybe, if we get lucky, yer opponent will trip and fall and land on the spear end.” The rearick laughed at his own joke, and it was hard for Hannah to not join in. But she could tell that Parker wasn’t in the joking mood.
“I think it suits you,” she said, giving him an encouraging smile.
“I’m just kidding, lad,” Karl said, giving Parker a hearty pound on the back. “You’ll be fine. And we’ll have plenty of time on the road to work on yer form. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna see if yer mom has any more of that cheese lying around.”
Hannah smiled as the rearick left, glad to have a minute alone with Parker—or almost alone. Sal was still there after all. Before her change, the two of them spent nearly every waking minute together. Now, with her playing student and him in training, they hardly saw each other alone at all.
“Nervous?” she asked.
“Course not,” he said with a grin.
“So, you’re shitting yourself then?”
“Yeah,” Parker laughed. “Pretty much. Besides that little trip out to your ruined tower, I’ve hardly ever been outside the walls. Now, I’m going to the bloody Heights. Kind of mind blowing.”
She nodded. “It’s beautiful. You’re going to love it. Not to mention their ale! I almost wish I was coming with you.”
Parker cocked his head. “Don’t worry, we’ll bring a little bit of the Heights back for you. From the sounds of it, your little mystic friend will be coming back with us. I know that’s really what you want.”
“Screw you.” She punched him on the arm. “Anyway, while you’re off taking a leisurely stroll south, I have a much more dangerous mission that I’m totally not prepared for.”
“Is that right?” Parker grinned. “What is it?”
She paused a moment. “I have to go to a formal ball.”
Parker couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “You? At a ball? Well, shit… there goes your cover. The mission is over!”
“Shut up,” she yelled, swinging another fist in his direction. He dodged it, and she started to chase him around the yard.
“The fate of Irth rests in Hannah’s dancing shoes. We’re screwed,” he twirled and twisted as he evaded her attacks.
“You’re the one who’s gonna be screwed once I catch you,” Hannah said. “I’m gonna shove that fancy new spear up your ass!”
****
Gregory watched from the window as Hannah and Parker raced around the yard—with Sal almost galloping after them. He smiled as he saw Parker lose focus for just long enough for Hannah to catch up with him. She shoved him hard, a
nd he tripped over a row of hedge bushes. Sal took his opportunity to pounce, pinning Parker to the ground.
Gregory was happy for them; their friendship was something special, something worth fighting for. He still remembered the look on Hannah’s face when she thought Parker was dying. Gregory wondered if anyone would feel that way about him if he was in Parker’s shoes.