"What are you drinking?" Parker asked.
"I've got no idea, but it is bloody delightful. I could drink these all night. Fruity, like raspberry, with a bite at the end."
Parker raised his hand to her cheek. "Given the blush you have right now, I’d say you probably have been drinking these all night."
Hannah laughed. He could tell she was loosening up, which at this point in the trip was a good thing for all of them. "I love to see you smile like that."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. I guess like you mean it. We’ve been grinding it out on the road for so long, and every minute since we landed here. A real smile looks good on you."
Hannah took another step in and looked up at Parker, her eyes dancing around his face. "You look good, too. Maybe someday we can do this more often."
"Yeah," Parker replied. "Maybe someday, we'll find a place like this of our own. But for now…"
Hannah nodded, and a shade of seriousness flashed across her face for a moment. "Yeah, for now, we need to figure out what the hell's going on here. This is not over. I’m sure of that."
Parker waved at a young man who was walking around with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. He came over, and Parker smiled at him. He was clearly Mylek, serving the Myrna royalty and their guests. He grabbed the small savory dish, some sort of mushroom wrapped in meat from one of the steers, and popped it in his mouth. "Thank you," he said with the sincerest smile he could muster. The servant nodded, bowed a little, and walked away.
"I know it's not over. I get the strange sense that things aren't as they seem. Today was too easy. I mean, I know you're a bad-ass replica of the Queen Bitch, but things went a little too swimmingly.
Hannah laughed. "Yeah. Things going according to plan isn't really our MO."
“Not even close," Parker agreed.
“Do you mind if I join the guest of honor?” Irmand asked, walking toward them. He spoke with a lilt, and his eyes danced in celebration of the major victory.
Parker held his tongue instead of telling the captain of the guard to leave them the hell alone for a few more minutes.
“Of course, Captain Irmand,” Hannah replied. “It is an honor.”
Parker could barely stifle a laugh in response to his girlfriend's words. She had come a long way since her days in the Boulevard when she was young, brash, and smart-mouthed. Diplomatic would've never been a word used to describe her, and that was just what she was being right now. She had grown up; he guessed they both had, in their own way.
"The honor is all mine," Irmand told her. "Believe me, when I saw you fighting, and when your crew saved our town from the fire, it was like the Matriarch had landed in our little city to right what was wrong. You are like the Queen Bitch incarnate."
Hannah's face turned pink. Even though she had heard these words from others from time to time, they still struck her. Half the reason for her reaction was that she knew Irmand was more right than he suspected. With the Matriarch’s blood running through Hannah's veins, she was nearly unstoppable. If they hadn't grown up together since birth, Parker would be more than a little intimidated by her.
"Well, let's not go overboard," Hannah answered. "We’re just doing our job."
Irmand nodded as if his head were on a spring. "Well, your job saved our asses. And for that, I'm grateful.” He waved toward the celebration in the hall and smiled. "And to show you our thanks, we give you all this."
Parker and Hannah looked out over the crowd and took in the “better half” of the city dancing, eating, drinking, and carrying on. Kirill had spared no expense for the celebration. The group was certainly pleased, no matter whose honor it was in, but he couldn't help but notice that the place was full of Myrna nobles. The only Mylek in the vicinity were the ones serving the food.
It felt like Arcadia. Parker saw that Hannah felt it too.
Diplomacy reigned once again. Mostly. "Well, I hope that at some point, the entire city will get to celebrate the victory."
Irmand looked at his feet and then back at her. His eyes still danced, but a little less. "Yes. Yes, I understand. Our city has had its share of division. King Aurel was working to heal wounds that go back generations. The unrest dates to the end of the Madness. But these things take time, and once Kirill takes the throne, his regime will finally bring about peace.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Parker asked. “He has to win the election first.”
“Yes, of course.” Irmand nodded. “He does indeed, even though everyone knows Aurel planned to nominate Kirill as his successor and would have if not for his untimely death. Still, we will follow the city’s charter, and if justice has its way, the process will yield the proper heir. I'm not concerned about that. And with that Blue Scarf troublemaker in custody, this town can relax.”
Hannah took a sip from her drink, then said, "What can you tell me about her?”
A look of anger passed over Irmand’s face. “Not much. Her name is Aliz; we managed to wrangle that out of her, at least. But there’s little more we need to know. She’s a terrorist, and Solyr has ways of dealing with those who threaten our peace. I'd like to think the Patriarch would smile upon our land and laws. Now that she’s under lock and key, we can force her to tell us where her compatriots are hiding. Then we’ll deal with the rest of the Mylek…I mean, Blue Scarf scum.”
Irmand’s eyes cut between Hannah and Parker. He was clearly trying to read their reaction. Perhaps he trusted them as far as they trusted him. Raising his glass, he thanked them again. "To your Brigade and to our city. May they journey ever forward in the grace of the Matriarch."
Hannah tapped his glass with hers and smiled. "Ever forward."
Irmand ambled off, and Karl, clearly half in the bag, stumbled up to take his place. "What's that asshat doin’ now?"
Parker looked him up and down. Karl wasn't bleeding, and Parker could only assume Aysa had also made it through their drinking game unscathed.
"They’re gonna torture the girl. That's what they're up to,” Hannah spat.
“You don’t approve?” Parker asked.
“I didn’t like it when you were tortured,” she snarled. Parker nodded. He remembered clearly his time at the mercy of Adrien’s minions.
Karl took a long draw from his mug and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “That’s not entirely the same thing. That girl, as ye call her, did burn down the largest buildin’ in town and let loose them steers to finish off the job."
"No one died," Hannah answered.
"Aye, they didn't. But that could be because the BBB was here. How many lives would've been lost if not fer us? If not fer you. I fer one have learned not to underestimate the power of girls.” He gave her a wink.
"And furthermore—" Karl stopped short and grabbed his shoulder, a knife protruded between his fingers. "Son of a bloody mother-lovin’ Baseeki rat-bastard.” His eyes swept around the room. "Speakin’ of girls!"
"I win.” Aysa laughed from across the hall.
“Ye cheated!” Karl pulled the knife out of his shoulder and took off after his greatest adversary.
Parker laughed as Karl ran after Aysa. When he turned back to Hannah, he could tell she wasn’t in a laughing mood.
“You think I'm taking all this with Irmand a little too seriously?” she asked.
“Seriously?” he asked. “In our line of work, a little suspicion goes a long way. When was the last time anyone in a position called ‘Captain of the Guard’ was totally on the up and up?”
“Why is that?” She sighed into her cup. “Is it too much to ask for nobility without douche-nuggetry?”
“Probably.” Parker sighed. “Does power corrupt the thirsty, or do the powerful thirst for corruption?”
Hannah smiled. “Whoa. He’s dashing and philosophical.”
“What can I say?”
“A lot. You generally say a lot.” She laughed.
“Me?” He gave her a feigned look of offense. “Anyway, I don't know what to sa
y about Aliz, but Irmand does make me uncomfortable.”
“Yeah. How so?”
“Well, again, whenever anybody is excited about justice—I mean his kind of justice—I automatically get very nervous.”
Hannah nodded. “Almost reminds me of Andre McCocksmear back in the Boulevard.”
“Bloody hell! I almost forgot about old Andre Assface.”
Andre was one of the Hunters back in the Boulevard. His taste for dishing out pain exceeded his desire for justice. He was a sick, twisted man, and that sickness spread through the ranks of the other guards in Arcadia.
Something Hannah and Parker had put an end to with their revolution.
"It felt pretty good to take that one down, didn't it?" Parker grinned.
“Taking any of those guard bastards down felt good, but some felt better than others, including Andre O’Dicknose.”
She looked around the room, and Parker could see she was trying to figure out the angle. Sure, the balance of power was clearly tipped against the Mylek. But for the most part, the Myrna certainly did not seem like a despicable bunch.
She turned back to Parker and handed him her glass. "Hold this for me."
"Where you going?"
Hannah nodded at the crowd. "I'm going to get some answers. When everything seems right but our gut says it's wrong, we trust our gut."
"Damn straight," Parker said. He took her glass, looked down at it, and then back up at her. "I've got a feeling you're not coming back for this."
Hannah went up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Maybe. Maybe not. Don't wait up for me, okay, dear?"
Chapter Thirty-Two
Hannah smiled as wide as she could as she wove through the crowd. She knew everyone was excited about the capture of Aliz and what seemed to be the total deconstruction of the Blue Scarves, but the attention made her more than a little uncomfortable.
Unlike her assistance in most cities, Irmand and Kirill and their people were more than happy to give credit where credit was due. Hannah was a damn celebrity, but at that moment, she wanted nothing more than to blend in with the crowd. It took her nearly fifteen minutes to cross the room, but when she got there, she found exactly who she was looking for sitting in a corner.
"You still on the lam?" Hannah asked.
"I might be.” Vitali smiled. “I don't know what that means. Is it something that your people say in the west? We surely don't say that in Kaskara."
Hannah smiled and reached toward her friend. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she gave it a squeeze and said, "It's good to see you, Vitali. You missed some major fireworks."
He nodded. "It’s all anyone can talk about. Besides you, of course.”
She shrugged. “What can I say, they like me. So, why are you over here in his dark corner?"
Vitali spread his hands across the linen table and looked around the room. "You could say I'm still keeping an eye on the place, which would be true. But I also got asked for drinks three times by a couple of rich pricks."
"That kinda sucks," Hannah said.
"Yeah. And there are like a half-dozen Myrna women who asked me if I would mind them touching my fur."
Hannah laughed. "That really sucks. But to be fair, when I was hanging out with your people out east, there were no fewer than a dozen Lynqi who asked if they could touch my bare skin."
"That’s because your bare skin makes no sense. But I assume you didn't come over here to discuss differences and social conventions."
"No, I most certainly did not. I need your advice."
Vitali nodded, and Hannah could swear she heard a purr emanating from his chest. Vitali didn't mind working alone, but his people were also communal. Hannah could only assume that just being together gave him a sense of peace, a moment of happiness. Being with him made her content too.
"I’m happy to help.”
"It’s just that none of this makes sense,” she began. “At least, not given the information I have. I feel like we’re intentionally being kept in the dark.”
"And you don't like being in the dark," Vitali added.
"Bingo-bango. What do you know?"
“Not much that would shed light, unfortunately. I don’t love Kirill. He’s all smiles, but there are sharp teeth behind it. I don’t doubt he would do nasty things to gain power.”
"Like kill his father?”
Vitali thought for a second. “I don’t know. There were no marks on the body, so Aurel could have been killed by a magic user.”
“That would mean a Myrna,” Hannah mused. “Like Kirill.”
"Him, or half the city. Or maybe I’m wrong.”
“Doesn’t really narrow things down, does it?” Hannah tapped her foot, thinking about the next move.
“I’m sorry,” Vitali said. “What about on your end?”
“Not much.” Hannah sighed. “I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to the Blue Scarf girl, Aliz, before Irmand’s men jumped her. She was not happy, but like you said, there’s a ton of unhappy people around here. With all that considered, what should we do?" Hannah asked, knowing exactly what Vitali was going to say.
"We talk to people who aren't happy." Vitali held up a finger and pointed at a woman in a long black cocktail dress. "How about her? I’ve been watching her all night, and she certainly doesn’t seem to be in a partying mood.”
Hannah followed his eyes to see the woman they had met on their first day in town. She was a Mylek on the city council.
Hannah rose. “Good call, V. And listen, since you don’t seem to be enjoying the party either…”
“You would like me to keep investigating?”
“Yep. Someone in this city has to know something about the dead king. Somebody who might talk.”
Vitali smiled. “I have the perfect person in mind.”
“Good,” Hannah smiled. “And be careful, will you?”
Vitali nodded. “Nothing you wouldn’t do.”
He nodded again, then disappeared around the corner.
“That doesn’t fill me with confidence,” she shouted to him. But he was already gone.
Hannah moved quickly toward her mark, brushing off the smiling crowd. She was done playing the humble savior. She needed answers.
The woman was beautiful by all social standards. Tall, fit, with long, flowing amber hair that fell below her shoulders. Her eyes sparkled, and Hannah assumed she looked ten years younger than her actual age. Nevertheless, she wasn’t on the A-List here.
She was a Mylek, after all.
“This is one hell of a party,” Hannah said as she stood eye to eye with the woman.
“Nothing gets this city more excited than a bad guy being put behind bars.”
Hannah smiled. “You mean, bad girl?”
The woman smiled back. “If we’re going to be precise, I prefer ‘bad woman.’ But I won’t diddle over words with you.” She shoved her hand toward Hannah, and Hannah took it in her own. “I’m Ky.”
Hannah nodded. “I remember. We met when I first came here. It feels like a month ago, but it’s only been days.”
“Time certainly bends when things go sideways. I guess I should thank you for all that you’ve done to straighten things out. The fire. The stampede.”
Hannah couldn’t help but notice that she left out the Blue Scarves.
“It’s what we do,” Hannah said. “Hopefully, Irmand can keep the peace from here on out.”
The woman nodded. “The peace. Right. Although I don’t know who writes his job description these days.”
Hannah’s face must have shown her shock because Ky hurriedly continued,
“The captain of the guard is not a bad person. I know you heard me dress him down in front of the council, but I’ve known Irmand since we were kids. He’s a good man. Good intentions. Totally inadequate for the job at hand, but I imagine that’s why he was hired.”
“Really?” Hannah said. “What do you mean?”
Ky shrugged. “There’s not much more to say.
Maybe a bit of chaos is helpful to some people in Solyr. And although Kirill would not agree, I’m loyal to this place. To these people. Even to poor Irmand, who keeps tripping over his dick.”
Hannah couldn’t help but laugh at Ky’s vulgarity. “Can I ask you another question? Frankly?”
“I’m nothing if not frank.”
“Good. What do you know about Aliz?” Hannah asked.
Ky shook her head. “Just because I’m a Mylek, you expect me to know every other Mylek in this city? Thousands of us live here.”
“That’s not an answer,” Hannah shot back, her voice harsher than she intended.
“No, I suppose it isn’t.” The woman smiled. “Forgive me; it’s been one hell of a long day.”
“And yet you’re not celebrating,” Hannah pushed.
“You won’t find many Mylek who are.”
Ky took a long drink from her glass. After placing it on a high table next to her, she looked at Hannah and said, “I’m happy you caught that woman. Truly, I am. The chaos the Blue Scarves were spreading in our city was terrible, but I can’t help but fear what comes next. From where I sit, this is just another brick in the wall Kirill and his minions are building between the Mylek and power.
“I can understand why the young people are frustrated. Things aren’t great for us, and it wasn’t long ago that things were even worse. King Aurel was, at least for us Mylek, a good king. He understood us, even though he wasn’t one of us. That was why he put me on the council. He’s why I’m here. He wanted me to represent my people. And there were some of us…”
She fell silent. Hannah placed her hand on Ky’s shoulder. “What?”
“Hope is a dangerous thing,” Ky said. “And some of the Mylek hoped one of us would find the throne next. But Aurel died, and now that Irmand has his big bad Mylek monster behind bars, Kirill’s victory is all but assured. But at least we have the villain, right? At least we have peace.”
Ky grabbed her drink off the table and walked away. Hannah’s head swam. She could feel the emotion of the woman, and she empathized with her. Things were very different between Solyr and Arcadia, and things were more subtle here. Subtleties made things much more insidious. Which meant she would have to be all the more obstinate.
Solyrian Conspiracy - C M Raymond & L E Barbant Page 11