Transcendent: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Kacy Chronicles Book 4)

by Anderle, Michael

  The Nycht guard opened the door on the other side of the foyer, and stood aside for Jordan to enter. Warm yellow firelight flickered from inside.

  "They're waiting for you," the Nycht said, his eyes taking her in. If Jordan wasn't mistaken, they were not cold or distant, but filled with curiosity.

  A door behind her opened, and she turned toward the sound.

  Ashley and Allan entered.

  "Dad!" Jordan threw her arms around her father. "What are you doing here?" Her heart seemed to resume something of its normal rhythm, and she marvelled at the steadying influence her father’s presence had on her physiology.

  "A courier came to get Ashley, and there is no way I'm going to let you two go through this alone," Allan looked at one of the guards. "Provided they let me in, of course."

  Jordan glanced at the Nycht guards waiting by the door. They seemed unconcerned about Allan's presence.

  Jordan looked at Ashley. "You ready for this?"

  Ashley nodded, his mouth a flat line. "Let's get it over with."

  Jordan, Ashley and Allan stepped through the doorway to face whatever was on the other side.

  ***

  Once through registration, Chayla winged to Mareya's house as fast as she could manage without frightening the little girl. Tashi clutched Chayla's hips and torso with her arms and legs, pressing her face to the Nycht's armor.

  The warrior landing in her backyard with a grim look on her face and a child wrapped around her was enough to bring Mareya rushing out. She had been wiping her hands on a towel, and she threw it over her shoulder and reached for the girl without hesitation.

  "What's happened? Who is this?" She kept her voice soft and light. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

  Tashi released Chayla and stood on her own feet. She allowed Mareya to put her face between her hands and look at her.

  "So far, she hasn’t spoken. But Toth rescued her from Golpa and asked me to bring her to you. Her name is Tashi."

  Mareya looked up sharply at mention of Toth. "Where is my dear brother?"

  Chayla took a breath to calm her pumping heart before saying, "He's been arrested."

  Mareya straightened, her back rigid as iron. "Excuse me?"

  "That's why he had me bring you Tashi." Chayla glowered, and Tashi cowered behind Mareya at the fierce look on the warrior's face. "They've accused him of treason. The bloody lot of them are…"

  "Fools," Mareya hissed. She turned and went into the house, taking Tashi by the hand. "Just let me gather a few things and I'll be off. Would you mind staying here with Tashi? I'm alone today, otherwise I'd ask Shad to look after her."

  "I'm not a babysitter," Chayla snapped, following Mareya but stopping before entering the house. "I'm going to find out what's going on."

  Mareya ushered Tashi inside. "I'll be right there, honey. There are some freshly baked krutch cakes on the table. Help yourself." Tashi disappeared inside, and Mareya closed the door before turning to face Chayla. Her face was like thunder.

  " I have connections. I know things about what is going on in the palace that you could not possibly know. Stay with the girl until I get back."

  "Forget it!" Chayla put her hands on her hips and opened her wings with a snap. "My captain is in trouble, and you want me to stay here, playing nanny and eating sweets? Are you out of your mind?"

  "Chayla…” Mareya began, ratcheting her tone into a much more reasoning inflection. “I am in a much better position to help him than you——"

  Chayla took off into the air before Mareya could persuade the stubborn Nycht to see her side. Mareya cursed as she watched the warrior disappear. Taking a steadying breath, she stepped into the house where Tashi was just polishing off her third krutch cake.

  "It's an exciting day for you apparently. Tashi, was it?"

  The girl licked her fingers and nodded.

  Mareya sat opposite the girl and fixed an excited expression onto her face. "How would you like to see the palace?"

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  A murmur of voices greeted them, along with the faint smell of bread, wine, and meat. The room had a V-shaped table open toward the door. Men and women were seated around it as well as standing behind it, holding drinks and talking quietly among themselves.

  The Nycht guard led Jordan, Ashley and Allan to the floor in front of the open V. "Council of Ten," he said loudly, coming to a halt and setting his shoulders back. "Your requested subjects, Jordan and Ashley Kacy, as well as their adopted father and citizen of Earth, Allan Kacy."

  At this, Ashley glanced at Allan, who gave him a close-mouthed smile. Neither of them bothered to correct the Nycht.

  The talking ceased except for someone thanking the Nycht and dismissing him. Arpaks who were standing now moved quietly to their seats. Two Nycht servants cleared away bowls, plates and cutlery from the table and left the room.

  Jordan recognized Balroc and Darber, but the rest of the Council were strangers to her. All Arpak, half of them female, half of them male, they were well dressed and well groomed. Most looked over the age of sixty, except for Balroc and two of the women. The old guard, she thought errantly to herself.

  One of the older women stood up. "Come closer, please. We won't bite. My name is Marli and I've been elected speaker today." Her elegant pale hands were folded in front of her waist. She lifted her chin as she spoke. "To state the case so we are all of one understanding, you're here because you've made a claim for the throne. As proof of your recognition, you present Doctor Juer Donda, the late king's physician, as witness. Is this correct?"

  Ashley and Jordan both nodded and murmured their agreement.

  "Fine. Is there anything else that you would like to present as proof? Anything at all?"

  "We have nothing else," Jordan said. She looked at Ashley. "Unless you've come up with something over the last couple of days?"

  Ashley shook his head. "We are willing to present ourselves for blood-relation testing," he said, addressing Marli. "If the color of Jordan's eyes is not enough for you."

  "The question lies not in your being a blood relation to King Konig. None of us dispute that—–or care, frankly. King Konig had many illegitimate children, as have all the kings of Rodania, and some of the queens before him. The question is: did King Konig recognize you irrefutably and formally before he died? And the answer to that is no, he didn't." The room fell silent for the space of a few heartbeats. "The only evidence we have is the claim that you two," she pointed a finger at the twins, "and Doctor Juer, witnessed the king write in light-ink that you are his children, and that he had a desire to recognize you formally. This is simply not enough. We need material proof."

  The doors behind the twins and Allan banged open, and Prince Diruk stalked into the room. Jordan, Ashley and Allan turned to face the intrusion, and the Arpaks at the table got to their feet, startled.

  Ten of the Royal Guard followed the prince, including a Nycht who was simply enormous.

  Jordan's skin prickled with horror at the sight of him.

  Dark bristles for hair, and a face more scarred than smooth, including a scar that crossed his upper lip and lifted it into a perpetual snarl. He would have dwarfed even Caje. The man had cold, hard eyes and a presence that went through the room like a shockwave. His razor-sharp dewclaws curled high above his head like scythes, and his wingtips crossed over one another behind his ankles, curving up and away from the floor, out to either side. Anyone standing within an eight-foot radius of him risked being knocked over by his thick, leathery appendages.

  Jordan had never seen him before and wondered why such a powerful and obviously battle-hardened Nycht had not fought with the Strix warriors against the harpies.

  The prince's wings spread up and out as he entered, their golden shimmer framing him as he walked in and giving him a godlike appearance. They stretched wide and held for a moment as Diruk scanned the room.

  "There," Prince Diruk pointed at Jordan, and his wings folded away. "Arrest that Arpak!"

 
Allan stepped in front of Jordan. "You'll do no such thing!"

  A guard shoved Allan into Ashley, who caught him before he fell.

  Two of the guards, both Arpak, seized Jordan by the shoulders. She found her wrists bound with manacles connected by a link of chain. A stone-cold shock rocketed through her as she stared down at the iron. She tried to form the single worded question ‘why?’, but all that came out was a rasp.

  "What are you arresting her for?" asked Marli from the table.

  "Highly unusual, a prince making arrests," said another feminine voice, quieter than the first.

  "She's a traitor," Prince Diruk seethed, his lip curling. He stood in front of Jordan, shoving his nose into her face. "You disgust me," he sneered.

  Jordan drew back from him, repelled by his expression, his very being. Her knees trembled, and her stomach was filled with cold lead shot, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear. "I have no idea what you're talking about." This time the words came out properly, but her voice was hoarse.

  "Rodania will be free of you and your friends soon."

  Jordan's heart plummeted into her shoes. She was about to ask which friends he was talking about, when Balroc asked for her.

  "Who else have you arrested?" His voice was filled with alarm as he came around to the front of the table.

  "Toth Sazak and Solomon Donda, traitors both. The three of them have been conspiring to destroy Rodania."

  "That's ridiculous," said Balroc with an actual laugh. "Sol was an Arpak courier and is a Strix warrior, honored after the harpy war for acts of bravery and selflessness. And Toth," Balroc huffed another disbelieving laugh, "I recruited Toth to protect Rodania, and he has done just that. He wouldn't even be here if I hadn't invited him. He'd be back in The Conca, fighting for someone else!"

  "Then you're a bigger fool than most," Prince Diruk replied. "I have proof."

  "What proof?" Allan barked. Ashley had his hands on Allan's upper arms as though afraid the man would fly at the prince and make the situation far worse than it already was.

  "What proof?" Balroc had asked at the same time. He held up a hand. "No, wait. Bring them here. Now. I propose that this charge can be refuted and resolved quickly and quietly."

  "Yes!" Prince Diruk's eyes lit up at the idea. "The Council is all here." He threw his chest forward and opened his palms, his head at a cocky angle. "The faster we convict them, the sooner we can have all the threats removed from Rodanian skies." He turned to the guards who had followed him. "Bring the prisoners!" He beckoned to the monstrous warrior Nycht, who approached and tilted his ear down to the prince. Diruk whispered some instruction, and the Nycht nodded and left the room.

  There was a murmur of talk as the Council members stirred and got to their feet. Their faces were a mixed bag of interest, fear, curiosity, and excitement.

  "Jordan," Allan whispered, pulling away from Ashley and straining toward his daughter, against one of the guards that flanked her. "This is not good. We have no idea what he's up to. It's a trap! We have no time to form a defense."

  "Get him away from the prisoner," the prince barked, and Allan was restrained and pulled away from Jordan, while still trying to speak to her.

  Sweat beaded his pale brow, and his glasses slid forward. He shoved them back in an agitated motion. "Council members," he said, his voice loud and firm. "Surely this requires proper consideration and time. We do not yet know the charges, and there is already to be a trial?"

  Prince Diruk's eyes gleamed. "Do you believe her to be innocent?"

  "I know it!"

  "Then she'll have nothing to worry about."

  "But—–" Allan's expression grew more desperate, and he searched for a friendly face among the Council members.

  But all eyes were now on the door, where a cluster of Strix had appeared.

  The room fell into a hush.

  Toth and Sol, with their hands chained in front of them, were shoved forward. Their ankles had been manacled to their wrists, and they walked with slow, shuffling steps. Both their expressions were wooden.

  Jordan wanted to scream at the sight of Sol and Toth bound like criminals. The injustice of it filled her with a cold fury, and she could hear the sound of her own molars grinding against one another. Her own arrest had not elicited even close to the reaction her body gave as she saw her friend and her lover humiliated like this.

  Sol and Toth saw Jordan at the same time, and their reactions were as opposite as fire and ice.

  "Jordan!" Sol barked. His teeth bared as he glowered at the prince. "She is innocent. Let her go," he growled. His cheeks flushed with pink, and his hands clenched into fists.

  "Is that an admission of guilt?" Prince Diruk asked smoothly.

  "You know it’s not."

  Toth's eyes were frozen and cold, his face expressionless and impossible to read. He didn't seem surprised to see Jordan there; then again, Toth never gave anything away. His icy gray eyes found Balroc and gripped the Councilman's face. There was no accusation there, but Balroc imagined what Toth might be thinking: that he should have said no to Balroc's offer, that he should have stayed in The Conca, that Rodania's corruption ran so deep it was beyond redemption.

  Balroc's mouth turned down at the corners, and his eyes narrowed at the prince, as malevolent as a flesh-eating reptile on its prey. Toth watched the anger play out across the Councilman's face before he squashed it with effort and the cool, detached politician was back. Balroc looked behind the table where the Council's guards stood at the rear doorways. He jerked his head at one of them, calling him over. The guard went to Balroc, and Balroc whispered something in his ear. The guard nodded and left the room through a back door.

  No one seemed to notice this except for Toth. All other eyes were on the main doorway, where another small group of Strix and one wingless, human form wearing a dress entered the room.

  Jordan's eyes opened wide with surprise as she recognized the woman. She looked similar to the last time she'd seen her, except her shabby clothes had been traded in for much finer ones, and her simple bangles had been traded for beautiful golden wrist-cuffs encrusted with semi-precious stones. Her hair was glossy and richer in color, and the kerchief that held it up was shot through with gold thread. Her purple skirts floated and swirled beautifully around her like fine chiffon.

  Jordan's mind skittered for the name of the gypsy who had sold them Blue back in Maticaw. It came to her suddenly.

  "Berla," she muttered. Her surprise at the gypsy's appearance could not have been deeper had Blue himself strolled in wearing nail polish.

  "You recognize this woman?" Prince Diruk said, pouncing on Jordan's utterance.

  Sol's eyes fell on the gypsy, then they too widened with surprise and then shot back to the Prince. He mouthed a few choice curse words, and Toth shot him a warning look. Sol yanked against the chains and they clinked loudly, emphasizing his frustration.

  "We met her in Maticaw," Jordan said, fighting to keep her tone even and losing. Her voice quavered. "She sold us Blue, the dragon that saved you all." She couldn't help but add the last bit and narrow her eyes, reminding them that they were alive thanks to Blue and his companion.

  "That's what you'd like us to think," Prince Diruk said coolly. He extended a hand to Berla, and his face melted into an expression of concern and care so artificial and syrupy, it made Jordan's gut roil with disgust. "It's alright. Don't be frightened," the prince crooned. "They won't hurt you."

  Berla took the prince's hand and stepped forward.

  Jordan thought that Berla looked older; her olive skin looked paler, and the purple smudges under her eyes had not been there before. She was stressed out.

  "Do you recognize these Strix, Berla?" the prince gestured to the three in chains.

  "Only those two," Berla replied, pointing at Jordan and Sol. "It is as the woman said, we met in Maticaw."

  "Tell us about that meeting," Prince Diruk directed.

  "The lady, Jordan, she
was drawn to a dragon hatchling I had for sale."

  "You told us it was full grown!" Sol spat and lunged for her against his chains. A guard yanked him back. It appeared to Jordan that Sol, normally so controlled and professional, had been pushed beyond his limit. The color was high in his cheeks, and his body was as taut as a piano wire. Her heart wanted to leap from her chest toward him, to do something to make him feel better. All she could do was watch him fume. She'd rarely felt so helpless, so sick with frustration.

  "Let the woman speak!" Prince Diruk barked. "You'll get your turn."

  Sol growled in his throat like an angry bear.

  "I told them the dragon hatchling was of the Tchielis vulgaris breed and that if they were bound for Rodania, that it would not be allowed to pass through the border."

  Jordan gasped and her jaw dropped at this bald-faced lie. She stared at the gypsy, and then at the prince who was watching the gypsy woman with a thoughtful expression painted on his face.

  Prince Diruk made a sound of understanding in his throat. "I see. What did they do then?"

  Just then a shape blocked the doorway, and Jordan looked to see the enormous Nycht return, ushering a much smaller, elderly Arpak in front of him. The Nycht bent down and said something to the Arpak, who nodded and went to stand quietly against the wall with his hands behind his back. His hair was white as snow and he observed the goings on through cool, detached eyes.

  Jordan's stomach sank further. She didn't know who this Arpak was, but if he was delivered by the terrifying Nycht, then he couldn't possibly spell good news for them. It seemed that Prince Diruk had been thoroughly planning this and had all his chess pieces in place.

  "They spoke to each other," Berla was saying, "talking about how the dragon could easily pass for a Predoian Miniature. They agreed that he was perfect for what they needed."

  Sol and Jordan stared at one another in horror.