by Erin Johnson
I let out a heavy breath and leaned my head against Hank's shoulder. I could do that anytime time I wanted to now. Happy tingles danced through me from my head to my toes.
22
An Accusation
Shouts turned our attention to the far end of the hall, where Ario and his guys pushed against the crowd of people near the door as they attempted to leave. People cried out in protest as he shoved them to the side.
Elke leaned closer to Shaday. "How did he say he got that armor again?"
Shaday smirked. Then she lifted her chin and called out across the long room, "Stay, Ario. I have some questions for you."
Four guards, clad in crimson robes and leather armor and braces, stepped in front of the studded doors, barring Ario's exit.
He spun. "I will not bow to you," he barked.
"We'll see." Shaday held her bandaged arms at her sides. "But first, I want to know. How did you come to wear Damavash's armor? The same armor stolen from the museum last month."
Even all the way across the hall, his face visibly reddened. The faces of the crowd swiveled toward him. Those nearest us rose on their toes to see over the heads of the crowd.
"I told you." His dark eyes glinted in the torchlight. "The fabled lion brought it to me, the same lion so many witnessed take the armor from the museum. It was decreed by the gods that I should have it, and"—he jabbed a finger at Shaday—"that I should be the rightful king."
"This guy is the worst," I grumbled.
Hank grinned and nodded his agreement.
But something nagged at me, something about the lion bringing him the armor.
The crowd turned to look toward Shaday. She shook her head, slowly. "I don't believe you, Ario. Because a true leader doesn't bargain with lives and use his people's time of need as a path toward personal gain."
Ario grew redder.
"If there are any gods, they wouldn't have given the armor to you."
He'd sat in a chair, in this very hall, and examined his nails as the monster scrambled toward us. He wasn't in the least alarmed, maybe because he was wearing fireproof armor, but it seemed like more than that. It was as if he'd known the monster was going to be unleashed and was prepared to make that ultimatum—his help, for the throne. But how could he have known that? Horace had been the one who—
My stomach twisted.
As Ario stormed toward Shaday and the rest of us on the stage, shouting at her and shaking his fist, memories flashed through my mind, the pieces coming together. I thought of fluttering around Urs Volker's tent as a moth with Horace waiting outside, following Horace to the dive bar with him disguised as an archaeologist, the scrolls in his bag, and again, he had that bag with him up on the volcano. I pictured Horace, his eyes lit up by the orange blaze of the lava, the smirk on his face. He'd wondered aloud if anyone would be as brave as Damavash and step forward to protect the city.
I shot my hand out and gripped Hank's wrist. He turned to me.
"Imogen?" Hank's brow furrowed.
"It was Ario."
"What was?" Iggy asked from his lantern.
"It was Ario and Horace together." My eyes shifted from side to side as I tried to piece it all together.
"Horace?" Hank recoiled and looked around the hall.
I walked forward and stood beside Shaday, with Elke on her other side. The hall churned in turmoil. Guards clamored to get at Ario as he hurled insults at Shaday, but the men from his tribe shoved them back, and skirmishes broke out among irritated, tired people throughout the hall.
I pointed a trembling arm at Ario. "You killed Bernhardt Beckham."
Elke rounded on me, her eyes wide and face pale. "You're sure of this?"
I pressed my lips together and gave her a tight nod. She turned toward Ario, her eyes blazing and teeth bared.
Ario scoffed. "Absurd. How desperate are you that you resort to accusing me of such a thing?"
My nostrils flared. "How'd you get that scratch on your cheek?"
His sneer dropped, and he pressed a finger to his face.
"From Bernhardt's medal? The attacker's blood was found on it. You put him in a choke hold, your faces close together. The medal he wore at his neck scratched you then, didn't it?"
"How do you know zis?" Urs Volker, surrounded by his black-uniformed officers, stepped closer to the stage, his penetrating blue eyes fixed on me. I really hoped I was right. But there was too much evidence, I had to be. I ignored Urs for now. I'd need to think up some way to excuse how I knew what I knew, but that would have to wait.
"Did you send your servant in first? He was cursed, wasn't he, by the protective spells around the tent and became ill? Yes, there was something going around among the staff, but his illness was violent and different from all the others. When he failed, you had to go in and do the job."
Ario's throat bobbed. He scoffed, though his dark eyes shot murder at me. "Who's going to believe this woman's wild imaginings?"
Elke leaned across Shaday. "How do you know this?"
Shaday lifted a brow. "Do you have proof?"
I grimaced.
"We can't arrest him without proof." Shaday's dark eyes searched my face.
I glanced at her burned and bandaged arms. I couldn't let her fight be for nothing; I couldn't let Ario get away with murder. But that meant I had to tell some things that wouldn't be easy to tell—some secrets I'd promised not to reveal. No one but Iggy knew I'd been in contact with Horace, and only Hank and the bakers knew he was my brother, so I needed to proceed carefully.
I took a deep breath and raised my voice. "Ario worked with Horace, leader of the Badlands Army."
Gasps rang out through the hall. Elke's jaw dropped.
"Horace transformed into a lion and stole the armor." Just like him, too—he probably thought it was poetic. I was beginning to pick up on my brother's trickster tendencies, he liked symbolism and mystery.
"Horace is a shifter?" Shaday lifted a dark brow.
Ario laughed without humor. "This woman is a flaming fool. We all know the museum was heavily guarded against all kinds of magic, including shifters."
I glanced back toward Hank where he stood beside Iggy. He'd paled but gave me a nod of encouragement.
I addressed Ario and the anxious crowd. "Horace is a swallow."
Gasps sounded through the crowd.
"A swallow?"
"What is that?"
I lifted my brows in surprise. Apparently, we were rare—so much so that many hadn't even heard the term.
"I am a swallow as well." I lifted my chin to project confidence, though my hands trembled. "We draw our power from without, giving us the ability to perform more powerful spells than the average person."
Hank stepped up beside me and took my hand. Energy and love flowed through me, giving me renewed confidence.
His deep voice cut through the murmur of the crowd. "I too am a swallow and can vouch that what she says about Horace is true."
A choked noise made me spin. Hank's father flushed bright red and his steely blue eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Hank's mother petted his arm and whispered in his ear, no doubt trying to calm him. What was he so upset about? Maybe he didn't like Hank revealing that he was a swallow? I hadn't thought it was a secret… though maybe, like Horace, he hadn't wanted it publicized. My heart pounded as I remembered my brother's change of attitude toward me, the anger, as he left me alone on the volcano with a monster. Would I be a target now? I gulped. He was certainly not going to be happy when he heard about what I was going to say next.
"Horace, as a swallow, has the ability to transform into an animal, like a shifter, but the protective spells against shifters wouldn't have affected him."
Hank frowned down at me. "Are you sure, Imogen? I've never transformed myself or heard of anyone besides a shifter doing so."
I nodded.
"She's lying!" Ario spat.
"I'll prove it." I closed my eyes. The room swirled with the energy of the crowd, but I didn't
want to pull from any one person by accident and hurt them. So I found their emotions instead—the anxiety, the hurt, the fear—and pulled from that. Maybe it would calm the mood in the room as a bonus side effect. I pictured a tawny lion with a full mane. I suppose I could have pictured a female lion, but the mane seemed more impressive. A whirlwind of energy blew about me, took me up and set me back down, on all four paws.
Screams rang out through the hall and, just because I could, I raised my fanged mouth and let out a deep roar.
I quickly changed back to myself and found the entire hall stunned, Hank included. His mouth hung open. I winked at him and his eyes widened. I felt pretty pleased with myself for stumping him, as he'd been teaching me so much over the last many months.
"How did you learn to do that?" he whispered, in awe. My stomach sank then. I couldn't exactly answer that Horace had taught me, since he hadn't known we'd been in contact. Didn't feel so pleased with myself at that moment. I hoped that Horace had been wrong, and that I wouldn't be despised and discriminated against as much as Sam and other shifters were. I gulped as I looked up at Hank's handsome face. I hoped I hadn't made things difficult for Hank either, especially given his father's reaction. Then again, his father seemed likely to have a conniption about everything I had to say or do.
Ario's lip curled. "So what? She can turn into a lion. Maybe this Horace can, too." He sniffed. "But I don't know any Horace."
Urs raised his voice so that the whole hall could hear, but addressed me. "Blueprints vere shtolen from Bernhardt's tent. Vhy vould he vant them?" He jerked his head towards Ario.
The rolled papers in his bag—Horace had had the blueprints on him when he went through the portal mirror. I took a breath and made sure I had it clear in my head. "He didn't. My guess is that Horace planned to unleash the monster, Tar, on the city and told Ario about his plans."
Ario paled.
"He knew Ario wanted the throne and made him a deal. If Ario brought Horace the blueprints of Carclaustra Prison, Horace would give him the armor of Damavash. Ario used that armor to negotiate for the throne, in exchange for defeating the monster, as he knew he'd be the only one who could." I glanced at Shaday and Elke. "At least, he thought he was the only one who could."
Urs turned his hard eyes on Ario. "And I'm sure za leader off oon terrorist organization, zome off whose members are incarcerated een za prison, can sink of many uses for such blueprints."
I thought of Pritney and Nate, who'd both claimed to be very close to Horace. I'd sent them to Carclaustra by foiling their plans.
"Horace is planning something," Hank mused.
I nodded. "Definitely."
Elke frowned. "But why wouldn't Horace have just stolen the blueprints for himself? If he can turn into a lion and steal armor from the museum, why would he need help getting the blueprints?"
I nodded. I'd thought of that myself. But when I'd turned into a moth and spied on Urs, Horace had stayed behind. I narrowed my eyes. As if he couldn't enter the tent. And Urs had been in charge of casting the protective spells around Bernhardt's tent as well, meaning he'd probably used the same spells for his tent. "My guess is there was some very specific spell around the tent that prevented him from entering." I shrugged. "Additionally, I think he enjoys sowing chaos. He probably loved creating turmoil within the kingdom over the throne."
Urs gave a grave nod of his head. "I cannot disclose za details, as eet ees a high-level security secret, but zis young voman ees correct. Rest assured, Horace vould haf been avare off certain shpells zat vould haf prevented him entering za tent heemself."
"So he sent this coward, Ario." Elke's eyes shot daggers at him.
I shook my head. "Well, this coward likely sent his servant first, who got ill and failed. So he went himself, and Bernhardt let him in. They probably shared some wine, Bernhardt got drunk, and Ario hoped to sneak out with the blueprints. Only I bet Bernhardt noticed, Ario panicked, and he killed him."
Ario's chest heaved and his small dark eyes darted left and right, like a cornered animal’s. "All guesses. There is no evidence!"
Urs Volker shot him a heavy look. "Ve'll see vhat your servant has to say about zat."
Ario paled, then sneered, then paled again and turned and ran for the doors. People shouted and screamed as he shoved them aside and lumbered toward the exit.
"Stop him!" Shaday commanded.
Her guards blocked the doorway while others, including Urs's security officers, closed in around him. It took three Fire Kingdom guards, but they tackled him to the ground and bound him with magic. It probably wasn't necessary. We'd seen that the armor was too heavy for him to get up, anyway.
Shaday hugged Elke to her and they both turned to me, sad smiles on their faces. Elke shook her head slightly. "Thank you, Imogen, for catching my father's killer. We didn't see eye to eye on much, but he didn't deserve to be murdered."
I nodded, my lips in a tight smile.
Urs Volker turned to Shaday. "Vee haf room for heem een Carclaustra, eef you decide to punish heem een zat vay."
She dipped her chin. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."
Urs bowed and then moved toward the exit with his officers to help escort Ario away.
23
Brave
The meeting concluded, and Amelia and the councilors worked to usher the gathered crowd out of the hall and either back home, or to the hospital or whatever aid service they might need.
I grabbed Iggy, then turned to Hank and we smiled at each other. Hank took my free hand and we followed Shaday, Elke, and the rest of the royal families out a back exit, through the palace, up some winding tiled stairs, and finally out into the cool night air. The smell of smoke and burned wood hung heavy in the air, and black plumes of smoke darkened the night sky, outlining the path the monster had taken through the city. Hank and I moved, hand in hand, to the edge of the roof and stood with the others in a line to look down on the enormous crowd gathered in the main square.
Despite all the fear and destruction, the city had faced earlier, the people were ready to celebrate their victory over the monster, and their new queen who'd saved them. Shaday lifted her bandaged arms and the crowd of tightly packed bodies below erupted into deafening applause. A huge smile stretched over my face.
"Wow. They love her."
Hank put an arm around me and hugged me close. "She's going to be a good queen."
I nodded and snuggled against him. So much had just changed between us. A future actually seemed possible. Happiness rushed through me.
"I hope it's all right that I made our relationship public?"
I looked up into Hank's pinched eyes. My lips quirked to the side. "I was surprised, and I don't think your dad's too happy about it." I glanced to my left, past Hank's eldest brother and his wife to the king and queen of the Water Kingdom. Hard lines etched the king's tanned face—everything about the man seemed hard. I smiled back at Hank, so honorable and kind. How had he turned out so well? "But I love you, and while I'm sure there will be some new challenges…" I took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm so relieved that it's not a secret anymore. And for the first time in a long time I feel hopeful."
Hank bent his face to mine and kissed me. His large hand cupped my chin and he slid the fingers of his other through my hair. He spoke against my ear. "I can't imagine living without you. I came so close to that today…"
I nuzzled against him. "From the wedding or the us almost not living at all because of the monster part?"
He chuckled and I felt the rumblings of it in his chest against mine. "Both. Imogen, I won't let that happen again."
"Good." I kissed him again, and while our lips were together, everything seemed right in the world.
POP! We jumped apart. POP! Fireworks streaked through the sky in gold and red starbursts. An enchanted one exploded, and depicted Shaday fighting off a flaming monster, their images stretched out across the night sky and the stars.
As we watched the show, I glanced up at
Hank. The colorful light bounced off his strong jaw, straight large nose, and his lively eyes.
He caught me watching and dipped down to whisper in my ear. "I'm so impressed with you."
POP! The exploding fireworks made it difficult to talk.
"Later, I want to hear all about how you put that together and solved the murder, and how you were able to warn us. You were so brave today."
My stomach twisted a little with unease. Had I been? I'd been running away, with Horace, because the prospect of witnessing Hank's wedding to another was too unbearable. Was that brave? There were things I didn't know how to explain to Hank.
Hank shook his head, and his eyes grew hard. "You brought justice to that coward Ario. What a lowlife. He risked the lives of his people and…." Hank huffed. "Well, he'll get what he deserves. And you made that happen." He smiled at me. I flashed him a weak grin, then looked away, pretending to be interested in the fireworks.
I swallowed against the lump in my throat. Only Iggy, of all my friends, knew the truth. Would the others accept it? Would Hank? I wanted to believe that he'd understand my need to meet my brother and get to know him. I hoped he'd understand that Horace as a person to me wasn't the same Horace who would unleash a monster on innocent people—that I hadn't known he would do such a thing. But would he throw me in the same boat as Ario? Would he think me a fool for trusting Horace? Was I one? I bit my lip, hard.
I'd had my reasons to trust him; Horace wasn't all bad. He'd saved me as a child, and we still hadn't solved the mystery we'd uncovered in Wee Ferngroveshire. Was Horace onto a political conspiracy to cover up the attack at Monsters Rise? That couldn't be completely discounted… at least in my eyes. I folded my arms and hugged myself. A firework exploded into the shapes of the sun and the moon.