Ace and the others didn’t even blink when Isolde crawled into his lap like she always did when they ate. Elan asked what was going on in the pits. They were holding Hikmat and Koswara in separate cells where they couldn’t rally anyone in the pits. They were kept in isolation with no visitors.
“We put his twin, Harja in isolation too. Didn’t want anyone down there looking to him for answers. Hikmat might not think he knows anything, but Isolde hasn’t gotten into his head and I trust him about as far as I can throw him,” Ace reported. “We’ve mostly just left them down there with guards to make sure no one is plotting anything. There’s some pissed off people down there, but a lot of them have no idea why they were arrested.”
“Boomer had more cameras installed in the pits and has been watching and listening,” Stretch said. “That’s why he’s not here now. He’s been glued to those screens eating slop and taking cat naps. Oh, he’s figured out how to reroute all sorts of cameras Sartika told him about and set some up on the platform too so he could watch the arena.”
“Should I sneak down and listen to Hikmat so we know what he’s going to say when we stick him in front of everyone?” Isolde asked.
“Just go in there and grab the parchment off his cot. He’s prepared a three-page speech,” Stretch grinned.
Elan groaned. Whatever Hikmat planned to say, Elan was going to have to sit there and wait until he was finished. Hikmat didn’t remember the truth about Isolde, but he knew they were married now and he probably had countless evil things to say about her on at least one of those pages. What he intended to say about Elan was probably no worse than what people said behind his back when people thought he was weak. He could listen to that, but he didn’t think he could sit there listening to Hikmat trying to rally the crowd to burn her.
“I’ll warn you, Elan. You know you can’t punch him and he has to have his say.”
“It’s going to be hard for us not to punch him either, my queen,” Hound pointed out.
“Hikmat isn’t going to know what hit him when the sixteen starts to play with him. He’s going to pay for everything he did. Don’t ruin anything jumping the gun.”
Elan kissed the top of her head and saw Hound watching them with a faraway look.
“We only know arranged marriages. Do you think the rest of us are going to find someone that makes us as happy as you two make each other on Ragnis Crystal?”
“You’re not married, Hound?” Isolde said. She sounded way too excited and Elan already knew where she was steering this conversation. Hound had been married once and his wife died in childbirth. He didn’t choose to take another wife after that. Elan didn’t know if he loved his wife and that was why, or if he just resented having his partner chosen for him. All Hound would tell her was that he wasn’t.
“I think you would like Yani. She’s my friend back home. She’s Cendian and very pretty. When she was supposed to be cleaning my chambers, I taught her how to read and fight. She excels at Kenku. She always told me if she could pick her own husband, he would be built like a mountain, but be gentle like a breeze.”
“You taught your slave to fight?” Hound said, cocking an eyebrow at her.
“I taught my friend to fight. She won’t be a slave on Ragnis Crystal. She’s smart and strong. She could join the military or she could decide she wants to go to one of the universities we will set up. She can do whatever she likes, but the two of you should meet. Maybe once we’re there, the two of you can join Elan and me for dinner.”
Elan wondered if Isolde could tell she was really embarrassing Hound and would drop it. Hound was the same shade of scarlet some of the fabric of her dress was and he was concentrating more on his curried potatoes than he was on her.
“Just something to think about for later,” Isolde shrugged. “Is Boomer picking up everything in the pit or do Elan and I need to go into the passage and listen?”
Elan could feel she really didn’t want to and she didn’t disguise it in her voice either. They both knew why she would have to, but they both desperately wanted more time together alone.
“No, not right now,” Ace said. “Boomer has brought several trusted allies in. He’s not the only one listening and watching the pit. People are openly discussing what happened without needing to listen inside their heads. There aren’t going to be any major surprises. From what we’ve heard so far, people either regret ever listening to Hikmat and plan to promise to do anything if you spare them or they intend to be burned with him. The people that plan to go down with him aren’t many in number.”
“Could someone go to the pits and project Hikmat’s trial on COMM?” Isolde asked. “They’ll hear him confess to things he hid from them and see what happens to him.”
“You’re brilliant, as always,” Elan said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “Ace, can you make that happen and get back to the platform to stand guard? We’ve got a trial to do.”
Ace promised to be right behind them as they moved back out to the platform. His advisors were waiting, along with more armed military. The crowd was eerily silent this time. Isolde was right next to him and she must have heard something from them that they would accept her slipping her hand into his, but she wasn’t whispering in his head yet. Ace was back with them sooner than Elan would have thought.
Two military men dragged Hikmat to the platform in shackles. He was unharmed, but very disheveled. The robes he wore to the temple were wrinkled and his hair was sticking everywhere like straw. The first time Elan had seen him, it looked like he had tried to comb some of his long hair over the top where it was thinning. It looked like he had tried again with water, but it was sloppy and made his hair look greasy.
Hikmat met any eye in the crowd that would meet his. He had some sort of plan. He thought he was getting out of this.
“He means to incite a riot. He thinks both your people and your military will kill you for him. He can insert himself on the throne like he’s always planned. The bust was only a hiccup for him. He started reworking his plan as soon as he woke up and was told he would be given a chance to speak. He thinks you’re mad and Fia won’t be here to hurt him. He preaches in that temple, but he doesn’t actually believe in her anymore.”
Elan was going to have to let him speak, but hopefully, together with Isolde, they could put out any riots that may happen. Elan hadn’t given him permission to speak yet and Hikmat wasn’t looking sorry at all. The crowd was starting to get restless because Hikmat looked like he was in total control and had a plan.
“This man conspired to overthrow the monarchy, kill the military, and incite civil war. He conspired to build weapons and recruited others to do his bidding. He had a trained assassin, a man who should have been burned. Hikmat plucked him from his trial by claiming to be a relative. He used him in his fighting pits until he was bested, then used him to kill off those of us that got in his way. He raped countless women to put his child in them, knowing full well what we would do to them. This man is the worst kind of criminal. Hikmat, speak your truth.”
“Your king has lied to you since he was a child. Fia doesn’t speak to him and she never has. If Fia was really speaking to our king to make our people greater, would he be diluting Cendian blood with an Avalian slave? Keeping himself hidden was just another one of the children’s games he likes so much. Everything you’ve heard on this platform is nothing more than your king being manipulated by an Avalian slave trying to better her station.
“And I know this because Fia talks to me. She says Elan is mad and blasphemes her name using it like that. He’s leading the Cendian people down the wrong path with these new laws. Cendians and Avalians should not mix. Are we all expected to wed our slaves now? Do you want a king who is swayed so easily by a few bedroom romps with a slave? We should burn both of them! I can lead all of you! I know the path! I—”
Hikmat fell to the ground holding his head and screaming. Atikah must have gotten fed up and decided to shut him up herself. Ela
n thought quickly. They had to think it was Fia. He did the same thing he did before and imagined his fingers brushing the tops of everyone’s heads. The crowd was already gasping at Hikmat on the ground, but some screamed when they felt his touch.
“Say something, Elan. Ease their minds. They are scared.”
“I told all of you Fia would be here today. I did not intend to stop Hikmat from spewing that vitriol, but Fia put a stop to it. This man meant to harm your king, your queen, and all my advisors. His path to the throne would have been lined with the bodies of Cendian people. Fia sentences him as guilty and will carry out punishment. She also thinks you need further proof of my chosen queen. You will notice the temperature drop as Hikmat dies. You will be uncomfortable and cold. It is Fia telling all of you she has a plan putting an Avalian by my side.”
“Good call, Elan. Don’t let them torture him too long or they will fear you and Fia together.”
No one on the platform moved, but their eyes bored holes into Hikmat, who was starting to look worried. Karta must have gotten to him first because he clamped his hands over his ears and started wailing. Karta must have held back or never sent the pulse this hard before because Hikmat was bleeding from his nose and eyes as well as his ears this time. Elan had no idea if that may have been Atikah because it looked like she was using her gift on him too. He was writhing on the ground in agony. The temperature in the air had gone so frigid Elan thought it might snow again.
Elan felt sick when Hikmat’s arm snapped at the elbow. He wasn’t sure how long he was supposed to be letting this go on to set an example. Tati and Isolde both started screaming in his head at the same time to put an end to it. They were screaming over each other and he didn’t try to pick out what their reasons were, he just looked at Hikmat and sent enough fire at him that it would be quick. He intended it to be quick, then he realized Hikmat was already dead when he went up in flames.
Isolde must have known Tati was trying to tell him something, so she stopped screaming. Tati was angry at all of them. “You were given these gifts to protect yourself. None of you were meant to enjoy using it for torture! This needed to happen, but Karta and Atikah need to be sent to their bond animals immediately after you finish.”
“Elan, I can stop freezing the air, but I can’t warm it back up again like you can. These people are afraid. Fia is meant to be a gentle god, the giver of life. You need to say something and settle their minds,” Isolde fussed.
Elan was glad he could multitask. He raised the temperature in the freezing air and dragged his eyes away from Karta and Atikah to look out at his people. Karta and Atikah looked pleased with themselves, but the rest of the crowd looked horrified.
“Fia does not like to do this to her people! She loves all of you. She wants to lead everyone, no matter where you were born, into a new era. She knows there will be challenges and doubters. Why now, after all this time? I don’t have that answer myself. I don’t know why Isolde and I were chosen. I know Isolde and I are meant to lead the Cendians into a new era and people like Hikmat, who try to twist Cendian belief of Fia to shed blood, will pay the price.
“You are free to ask questions. You are free to disagree with us and have a civil conversation about it so we can come to a resolution. You would not share Hikmat’s fate for merely doubting and asking questions. The people we arrested with Hikmat will not share his fate unless they choose to or it is discovered they knew most of Hikmat’s plot. We will know if they lie.”
“You said they could ask questions. They have them. You need to answer what you can now.”
“You have questions. Ask them now. Find a soldier near you and they will give you their COMM. I’m asking our military to switch their COMMs to broadcast so we can all hear. Leave a channel open for communication just in case a check-in is required. I can’t answer everything today. We will hold an arena every day after lunch until all of your questions are answered,” Elan promised. It would mean less time with Isolde, but it had to happen.
They answered questions until dinner. Elan was surprised some of his people asked Isolde questions directly. She answered with a perfect Cendian accent like she had lived here her entire life. He hadn’t even thought about her accent when the first person put a question to her. She sounded well-spoken, but spoke softly like she spent her life as a slave. Apparently, Elan wasn’t the only performer in the marriage.
Some of them asked questions neither of them could answer yet, like if Isolde was queen, were they meant to give up their slaves? If they were, what were they supposed to do with them? All Elan could think to say was that there was a plan for the slaves that everyone would agree on. He wasn’t quite sure about that. Some of the high born on Cendis had been relying on their slaves for so long, they couldn’t do simple things like dress themselves or wash their own hair. They would have to learn if they came.
Elan had to field questions on how he found out about The Children of Fia and assure everyone no one who had met at the temple needed to be burned anyway because it was cursed. Tati wasn’t helping him at all and Isolde didn’t know the answer either, but Elan decided to quash that idea. He told his people to stop thinking of places, objects, and themselves as cursed. Just because something horrible happened didn’t mean they needed to burn things or avoid them.
He swore he didn’t know why their people lost their fire either, but they wouldn’t get it back burning everything they feared. Tati only decided to chime in when they were walking back to his chambers to eat to tell him he was on the right path.
Tati was going to have to start giving him more information and soon.
Chapter 38
Reading minds was like a second nature to Isolde, but the trials were exhausting. They went on for days. She was listening to people speak and listening in their heads for lies. She’d have to wait for dramatic pauses in some passionate speeches full of lies to alert Elan in his head. Hikmat thought he kept everyone in the dark, but his twin, Harja knew and apparently there was a faction in The Children none of them knew about because they only captured and questioned Hikmat and Koswara and Meida wasn’t around Harja.
She blamed herself for not demanding to go see Harja. Hikmat didn’t remember who she was, but Harja knew and he intended to expose her during his speech. He intended to play the card she was an Avalian spy who bedded Elan and convinced him Fia was talking to him. She was practically screaming in Karta’s head to shut him up before he ruined everything. She could only talk to one person at a time, so she couldn’t tell Elan until Harja was on the ground screaming.
She had already gotten most of what she needed from him anyway. Harja had more people in on his plan than Hikmat did. They knew everything she and Elan did, but Hikmat didn’t know. They planned to let him do everything. Blow up the barracks, experiment on Elan, and they hoped Koswara would have killed her by now. They intended to let Hikmat do all the dirty work, then pay Koswara enough for his loyalty and have him kill Hikmat.
Harja was just as bad as Hikmat at wanting power and didn’t care who he had to kill to do it. The sixteen men following him were promised positions as his advisors. It would have been easy to buy Koswara because one of the men was from the original families and had been trusted with handling the money from the pits. If Isolde wasn’t so worried about one of these men exposing her, she would have laughed that Hikmat’s had his own issues with people plotting against him.
She quickly told Elan of Harja’s plans and the list of names in his head and just hoped he could act before Harja recovered from Karta’s attack. She let her eyes go back to Harja. She knew the bond animals were angry with Karta and Atikah for what they had done to Hikmat. She hadn’t been trained in torture and didn’t have the stomach to watch, so she looked at anything but him contorting and screaming on the platform. The two of them looked like they were enjoying it.
Karta and Atikah looked subdued in the later trials and Karta knocked Harja unconscious this time instead of continuing to tortur
e him until Isolde could speak to Elan. The crowd was used to this by now and didn’t erupt. They should have planned better and brought Harja out right after Hikmat, but everyone seemed to have forgotten about him until the sixth day. She was starting to wonder if she was getting soft or losing her edge if she let Harja sit that long without getting into his head. She didn’t like surprises.
Elan addressed everyone and announced Harja was just as bad as Hikmat and conspired behind his back. Elan didn’t let it slip that Harja wanted her dead because of where she was from, but he told everyone Harja conspired to kill their queen. He listed out all the names that followed Harja. A few people in the crowd gasped, but Isolde was able to pick out it was mostly neighbors who didn’t think someone that evil was right next door.
She didn’t think it was possible, but the Cendian people were warming to her as the trials and Elan’s arenas where he tried to answer questions went on. It meant less time together now, but it possibly meant they could get to Ragnis Crystal faster and could spend as much time as they wanted together. They held the trials after breakfast and the question arenas after lunch.
The trials had been mostly expected. Boomer and the other men listening already told them what the planned speaker was going to say. She had to just listen for a little while before she knew if they spoke the truth or not. It was Hound that came up with punishment. She had no idea if he had been thinking about what she told him about Yani or he just didn’t like slaves. It could have just been he was fond of Isolde after he got to know her and didn’t like the way they treated Avalians.
Child of Fire, Child of Ice-A Sci-fi Romance Series Page 29