"Why would you care whether Nychts earn a place of power or not? What's in it for you?"
"I love Rodania. I believe that equality is better for our nation. I have seen many talented Nychts under-utilized and mishandled. Their situation not only hurts them, but it also hurts us. Those on the Council who would continue to hold your people down are doing so out of fear."
Toth's mind was spinning. Is everything this Arpak is saying for real? He seemed to share Toth's ideology. Looking at Balroc's face and hearing the passion in his words, it was very difficult to think that he was lying. But Toth had grown up not trusting Arpaks; he needed to verify this story for himself.
"When is this vote?"
"Roughly a year from now. The date is yet to be confirmed."
"You've been petitioning other Arpaks on the Council to vote for us?"
Balroc nodded. "It has been my sole focus these last six months."
"And where does the poll stand now?"
"I have three on the Council who are for you, and one who is undecided."
"That's less than half."
"Yes it is, but it’s a huge shift forward from where it was, and I don't yet know where King Konig stands on it. His doctor won't let anyone near him. King Konig's vote counts as two. Now do you see why you need to help Rodania?"
Toth did see.
He turned away from the councilman, thinking. His eyes skimmed the rooftops and terraces of Upper Rodania. He had loved this city once, too, before he'd grown up and realized what corruption lay beneath its shining exterior. If what Balroc was saying was true, he and his Nychts had a chance to prove themselves invaluable to Rodania. The opportunity lay in exhibiting their worth to King Konig and earning his two votes. It was a chance to change the future for all the Nychts here, a massive step towards equality.
It was a bitter pill to swallow that the Nychts had to work so hard and risk so much to fight for something they should be granted as rightful citizens of Strix society. If Toth and his rebels took up the fight against the harpies, there could be deaths.
"I am not saying I'll return to Rodania." Toth turned back to the eager face of Balroc. "But, what are you proposing exactly?"
Balroc's face lit with hope. "I have the means to furnish you with training islands, weapons, and the authority to pull together an army. Your word would be sovereign when it came to military matters and the defense of our city, second only to King Konig himself."
"The Council supports this?" Toth staggered mentally at all Balroc was offering.
"They support your return to forge a military; they haven't thought far enough ahead to tie it to the vote."
Toth considered the monumental meaning behind his proposal. "It seems as though the Council is expecting more harpies to attack."
Balroc gave a sharp nod. "They are. In return for your service, you would be furnished with an excellent salary and a residence on Upper Rodania."
"I wouldn't want to live here."
"On Middle then," Balroc amended. "You must understand…more than half of the Council members would like to keep Nychts down forever. You are a soldier and a mercenary, I am a politician; I am telling you that this is your best chance to change all of that. If you turn it down, there will be no relief for the Nychts of Rodania for another hundred years." Balroc scanned Toth's face intently. "You do not need to answer now, but I need to know where you stand in the next three days. Things are moving quickly, and panic is rising. The people need to see that the Council is making strides to protect them, even if King Konig seems unable or unwilling to act."
These were treasonous words.
It hit Toth swift and hard that Balroc seemed to be purposefully giving him something to use against the councilman if he so wished. "You should choose your words more carefully."
"I chose my words very carefully, believe me." Balroc was unblinking and unafraid. "You are not the only one taking risks here. I need you to trust me if we are to work together, and the only way I can see to do that is to put a club in your hand to show you that I know you will not beat me with it."
This was either incredibly foolhardy, or incredibly brave. Toth looked down at the man with a new perspective. His wide face and sky blue eyes seemed guileless and trusting.
"I'll return in three days with an answer," said Toth.
Balroc let out a breath and nodded. "I shall eagerly await it."
***
Toth wasted no time winging his way to Sol's apartment. Eohne was kneeling on the terrace in the sunlight, a collection of instruments and tools laid out on the tiles in front of her.
"How is he?" Toth asked as he folded his wings away. He stepped around Eohne's work, careful not to bump any of her things with his boots.
"The same." Eohne's face was pale, and dark shadows ringed her eyes. She looked as tired as any Nycht in Rodania. She ran a hand through her hair, which she'd released from its ties for the first time in days. "Jordan told me about your letter. What did the councilman want?"
"He had a proposition." Toth scratched his chin where the shadow of a beard was beginning to thicken. "I was wondering if I might use your messenger bugs to contact my brother?"
"Of course, I'll go get them." Eohne rose and disappeared inside.
Sol appeared from inside the apartment, passing Eohne with a smile. He gave Toth a polite nod. "Toth." He held out his hand for the Nycht to shake, figuring the gesture might be meaningful to a Nycht who spent a lot of time with humans. "Good to see you again."
"Is it?" Toth looked down on the smaller Arpak.
"Of course. Jordan and Eohne told me everything you've done for them." A touch of color dotted Sol's cheeks. Toth was a hero, and he was grateful, but he wasn't about to fall down and fawn at the mercenary's feet. "Thank you."
Toth let Sol's hand go. "I didn't do it for you." Though his words were hard, he spoke simply, and not unkindly. Toth didn't like the way Sol assumed gratitude on behalf of Jordan; it was too close to suggesting the two were an item for Toth's taste.
Sol almost snapped that he knew that, but instead turned the conversation in a more productive direction. As a government employee, he was nothing if not diplomatic. "I heard you met with a councilman. No bad news, I hope?"
Toth eyed the courier, chewing his cheek thoughtfully. "Do you know anything about a vote the Council holds every one hundred years?"
Sol's brows drew together. "A vote? About what?"
"Whether or not to allow Nychts a place in government."
The Arpak’s brows shot skyward. "I've never heard of such a vote. Is it real?"
"Balroc says it is." Toth's eyes locked with Sol's. "You can see why it would be a best-kept secret, if it is true."
Sol nodded in agreement. "I certainly can. I have a few choice words for some of our Council members in private, but I would have only good things to say about Balroc."
"Do you know him?"
"Not well. He's only been on the Council for six months or so. I have delivered messages for him, and he seems a good sort."
Eohne appeared with the bottle of bugs, and Sol's eyes dropped dubiously to the cluster of round glass balls. "Still using those things?"
"Only for intra-Oriceran messages." Eohne blew out a breath. "No universe hopping for these guys; at least, not until I can make a few tweaks."
"Still, seems like you have no way of verifying they're safe to use until something goes wrong." Sol frowned at the bugs.
"You're just afraid I'll put you out of a job one day," replied Eohne, elbowing Sol in the ribs as she passed.
"There's that, too," he allowed with a half-smile.
Eohne took Toth through the routine with the donisi pill, and injected the bugs with Toth's vocal vibrations. Toth made a simple request of his brother, which left both Sol and Eohne bemused. The bugs zipped off in the direction of The Conca, disappearing from sight at a blinding speed.
"Thanks," Toth said to Eohne. He turned to face the vista, wings opening.
"Where are y
ou going?"
"I'll be back later," Toth called over his shoulder as he leapt into the air.
Eohne and Sol looked at one another. "Can Caje get here that fast?"
Sol shrugged. "He'd have to be a champion flyer, that's for certain."
CHAPTER TEN
Toth winged his way down to Lower Rodania. It was strange, being in his homeland again. Things had not changed since he was a young Nycht, fighting to stay awake during school hours. It had taken until his twenties to be able to function normally in daylight. It would never feel entirely normal.
The fields and towns of Lower Rodania sped by as he approached the place of his birth. Mavado was a small agricultural town nestled among a patchwork of colorful crops. Toth landed in a large yard of thick, green grass. Small jovial insects leapt up and bounced off his legs and chest as he walked to the stone house where he had begun his life. He used to spend hours playing with the spring-loaded bugs, catching them and setting them against his friends bugs to see which could leap highest. Life had been simple once.
He approached the familiar arched door and used the wooden knocker. Stepping back, he waited. Soft thuds could be heard inside.
An olive-skinned Nycht woman with dark brown eyes opened the door. For a moment, she only stared. She gasped when she realized he wasn't a figment of her imagination. "Toth!" Her eyes misted over, and she threw her arms around him, squeezing him so tight he nearly lost his breath. He squeezed her back. "You're here! Are you real? What are you doing back?" She gave another gasp and pulled back, her dark eyes lit. "It's the harpies, isn't it?"
Toth smiled at his sister. She'd always been sharp as a tack. "Hello, Mareya. Did I wake you? I'm sorry."
"Don't be daft," Mareya scolded, inviting him inside. She rubbed the wet tears away from her eyes. "If I heard my older brother had come back to Rodania for the first time in ten years and he hadn’t woken me up, I would have sent someone to skin you alive. You are lucky I am not at work today."
"If you had been, I would have come to the palace to find you. You still work there?"
Mareya nodded and closed the door. "Come in, come in. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"
"I wouldn't say no to one of your krutch cakes, if you have any." Toth smiled again at his younger sister, his heart full of her. "You look well. I'm happy to see you."
She flapped a hand at him. "I will never get rid of these bags under my eyes." She laughed in good humor then put her hands on his shoulders. "Let me look at you." She scanned her brother's face. "The past decade has given you many new scars." Her thumb traced a thick line of scar tissue on his neck just above his armor. She shook her head, her face sad. "I worry for you every day. Come. Eat." Mareya crossed the living area, where a semicircle of steps led into a depression, in which sat a wood-burning stove. It was used only in winter, and even then rarely, as temperatures in Rodania were mild. "I'll wake Shad."
"No, let him sleep. I remember how hard it was, school on Arpak hours. Don't disturb him."
"Absolutely not. He never gets to see his famous rebel uncle. He would never forgive me if I didn't wake him."
Toth's mouth quirked. "Don't you mean ‘infamous’?"
"Not remotely!" Mareya rifled through a cabinet and retrieved a plate and cutlery. "You are idolized by the young Nychts here. Shad couldn't be prouder of you."
"He is, what? Sixteen?"
She nodded. "This year."
"And his Arpak friends? That little one with the black feathers—–what was his name? Is he still around?"
Mareya gave a sad smile. "Benn and Shad don't play together so much anymore. A lot can change in ten years."
"Is that because of me?"
"No, of course not." Mareya dropped her eyes to the dish of krutch cakes. She set one on a plate and slid it toward Toth. "Go sit down. I'll wake Shad after we've had a chance to catch up. But first, I'll bring your coffee.
Toth let out an involuntary groan. "I haven't had coffee in…I forget how long. The humans of The Conca don't drink it. They have their own vile drink called measil." He wrinkled his nose. "Tastes like dirt. I'll never understand why they like it."
"You have no coffee in The Conca?" Mareya looked appropriately horrified. "I'll send some to you. I am finally allowed to use the palace couriers," she muttered. "Only took twenty-eight years of service."
"Kind of you," said Toth. "But that would still be outrageously expensive, and you know it." He picked up a krutch cake and bit into it, ignoring the fork on the plate. The pastry, filled with fresh pinzo berries, crumbled in his mouth. He gave a groan of pleasure and looked at Mareya through one eye, closing the other in a funny face he hadn't made in a long time.
Mareya sat down to watch her brother enjoy the cake. She rested her chin in her hands. "I don't suppose it would do any good to ask you if you'll come home?"
Toth swallowed and grew serious. "You know I can't live here with things as they are. I had no intentions of coming home at all, but there have been some strange circumstances. A strange circumstance brings me to you today." Toth put down the cake. "Do you know Councilman Balroc?"
"Not well," replied Mareya, “but working at the palace means I cross paths with all the Council members at some point or another. Balroc is among the best of them. Why?"
"I met with him less than an hour ago."
Mareya's eyes widened. "Met with him?"
Toth nodded. "He sent a courier for me only moments after I arrived in Rodania."
"What did he want? Am I allowed to ask?" Mareya put up a hand. "I don't want to know something I shouldn’t; it makes things so complicated. There are already too many secrets flying around the palace."
"He wants me to start a military force."
Mareya's hand flew to her mouth, and she stared at her older brother. "Because of the harpies? I knew it! I knew you were here because of them."
"I wasn't, actually. I was here for a friend. But the timing does make it look that way. I didn't realize there had been attacks until our ship docked at the border."
"But you'd never agree to it, would you? Making an army?"
"Normally, no. But I need to know if something he said is true. You're the only person I can think of to ask." Toth took his sister’s hand. "He said that the Council of Ten holds a vote every one hundred years. A vote about whether or not to allow Nychts a place on the Council." Toth could see the light of understanding sweep across Mareya's face. "So it's true? There is such a vote?"
"It is true," Mareya confirmed, but her eyes were sad. "But it will never pass."
"How do you know?"
"There will never be enough support for it. The Arpaks have no reason to change things. They are stronger than they have ever been. They've got us all living life as though we're Arpaks, too."
"Balroc says there could be enough support. He has three votes for and one undecided."
"That's only four total, including Balroc, out of twelve votes…" she looked doubtful.
"Mareya," Toth squeezed his sister's hand. "Do you know which way the King would vote?"
Mareya sighed and gave a smile. "King Konig has always been for equality. For all his faults, he has a good heart. The problem is that…" She hesitated and pinched her lips.
"What, Mareya?"
"The king has not been himself for quite some time. He is unwell." She spoke slowly, enunciating and lacing her words with subtext. "And the vote is still a whole year away."
"You think he may not live that long?"
Mareya gave a small shrug of her shoulders, her mouth downturned.
"So what of his successor? Prince Diruk? You practically raised him."
"You'd never know it," Mareya sneered. "He has as much prejudice as the queen did."
Toth's face fell. The queen had been a tyrant and a bigot. If the young prince had taken after his mother, there was no good future for Nychts on Rodania. Toth's expression hardened. "We cannot allow things to stay the way they are for another one hundred years." He met his sister's so
ft brown eyes. "And I can't bear to think of harpies putting my family's lives in danger."
"Are you saying you're going to do it? Create a Rodanian military?"
"I can't do it without Caje's help, but if we can save Rodania, we can compel the rest of the Council to vote in our favor."
"And you would be here," Mareya added, her eyes shining. "You would be home, with your family."
"Yes," said Toth. "But I would only stay if we were successful. I cannot work for a government who holds no respect for us."
Mareya nodded. "I know. You never did have any tolerance for inequality. When do you have to give an answer?"
"Three days."
"And you will see Caje before then?"
"He had better come," Toth growled. "I need him."
"What about the humans you are sworn to protect?"
"It wasn't a vow, just a contract. We would dissolve it."
"They won't like that."
"No, but everything changes. They'll go back to living the way they did before us." In constant fear of harpy attacks, he added to himself silently. He took another bite of krutch cake and chewed thoughtfully.
"So it must be true, then," mused Mareya, pulling him from his thoughts.
"What's that?"
"The Elf magic has been broken. The protection that they said was unbreakable has betrayed us. The Council will be having words with the Light Elves over this, if they haven't already. I hope it doesn't escalate."
"Balroc insinuated that it was not the magic that was at fault."
Mareya looked puzzled. "Then what else-–"
She paused and breathed out a long, "Ohhhhh." The two Nychts shared a look of understanding.
"Sabotage?"
Toth nodded. "If he's right, King Konig and the Council have more problems than harpies on their hands."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Toth turned at the sound of flapping wings and watched his brother descend to the glade in the woods they’d played in as kids. The early morning light of dawn illuminated the knee-deep burbling stream as it wound through the trees. Small islands dotted the water, wreathed with bright green spearmint plants. They had often taken water from the spring-fed stream back to their family because it tasted like mint.
Combatant: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Kacy Chronicles Book 3) Page 9