Tainted Crown

by Jenn Vakey

  We wanted to be seen with the others as little as possible. Gryffin and Paxton were starting with the prison on the opposite side of the city, but Lamont and Jarrell were going to be spending most of their time in Sentry section too. We were counting on those in the prison being able to give us additional names of people to approach, so there was no telling where we would actually end up before this was done.

  “How are we going to do this?” I asked, scanning the walkway as we went. We walked calmly, not wanting to stand out. With the current state of things, most citizens were actually avoiding looking at us at all. Fearing they would be the next to be arrested. Or worse. That didn’t help my nerves at being out in the open like this. “Should we plot out our stops based on location?”

  Rhydian gave a sharp nod. “There’s a stop I want to make first,” he answered. “Then we’ll work our way out from there.”

  It took us thirty minutes before we arrived at our first stop. It must have been important to Rhydian, because I was certain we had actually passed by some of the others. But I trusted him.

  He stopped in front of the door, then after glancing carefully around to ensure we weren’t being watched, he knocked. After a few moments, heavy footsteps sounded from inside and the door was pulled open.

  I looked up at the man standing in the doorway. He wasn’t anyone I recognized. He was a little older than Dallin, with salt and pepper hair and broad shoulders. His jaw was locked tightly as he looked between us. The way his muscles worked and flexed under the grey shirt he wore told me he was bracing for a fight.

  I didn’t know if that was a good thing. Angry Sentry set off that instinctual reaction to protect myself. It took effort not to reach for the baton on my hip.

  “Good afternoon, Sentry Trombly,” Rhydian said calmly. “Might I request a moment of your time?”

  His face hadn’t been familiar, but the name was. I almost smiled. Rhydian had been sure he would have been one of the ones arrested by now. Especially since he had not only shielded Rhydian after Gryffin’s speech, but he had been guarding the exit for us. He was one we were almost certain could be trusted.

  Not that he trusted us at all as he considered the request for a moment before finally relenting.

  Kavon Trombly took a step back to let us in, closing the door behind us. Then he walked further into the home. His body never lost that tension. I was sure he was just waiting at this point for us to announce that he was being arrested.

  “We heard you’re a friend of the true crown,” I said, hoping that being a woman might put him at ease some. That my tone conveyed hope more than accusation.

  He still looked at us like he expected this to be a trap. Not giving anything away.

  Rhydian moved his hand out and motioned toward the shelves against the wall. When Kavon followed the movement, Rhydian used his telekinesis ability to slide a picture from one side of the shelf to the other.

  Kavon’s eyes widened, then turned toward us. Rhydian didn’t wait for him to say anything.

  “We met that night that things changed,” he said, then tilted his head toward me. “I was carrying her out the last time we spoke. I looked a little different at the time.”

  The Sentry studied him a moment before relief settled in. “Prince Evran,” he said, bowing his head in respect. “It’s not safe in the city for your kind. Dex is on a rampage. He’s taking in anyone he even suspects of being on your side. He had the execution of a Tainted woman broadcast to the city during breakfast this morning.”

  My stomach turned. That he would do such a thing wasn’t surprising, but it wasn’t something we had heard about yet.

  “That’s actually why we’re here,” Rhydian said, although the tightness when he said it showed how angry the news had made him. “We’re hoping to put a stop to all of it and ensure the people of Eden are safe. Everything you saw on that broadcast of ours was true. Every citizen within Eden has the Tainted genes. We came in that night to rescue those that had been held and tortured so that weapons could be created to duplicate their abilities.”

  Kavon nodded. “I’ve seen some of them. They use them when making their arrests. It’s making it almost impossible to fight back.”

  “What would you say if we could level the playing field?” I asked, watching him closely. He gave me a curious look but didn’t answer. I pulled one of the vials out of my pocket and held it up. “This is a serum that will trigger the dormant Tainted genes in anyone who takes it. If we’re wrong and they aren’t in everyone, nothing will happen. If we’re not, it’ll be just like when ours activate.”

  “You’re going to turn people in Eden into Tainted?”

  “Only those who wish to have access to their Tainted abilities,” Rhydian stated before Kavon could do more than bristle at the idea. “We have no desire to force it on anyone.”

  “We also don’t know what abilities will manifest,” I added. We needed to lay it all out for him. He needed to understand the full implications of this. “There’s the possibility for telekinesis, draining energy with a touch, controlling water, communicating with animals, and super strength. Those are just some of the abilities that have developed in people who have come to Alkwin. Most have more than one.”

  Kavon thought it over for a moment as we waited. It was a lot to take in. We weren’t simply asking his help in taking back the city. We were asking if he was willing to do something that would leave him forever changed. And if we failed, it would also mean his life in Eden would be over. He’d have no choice but to flee.

  “What’s your plan here?” he finally asked.

  Rhydian glanced to me before answering. A silent request in his look.

  “Do you intend to turn anything you learn here today over to Dex, the council, or the Sentry who support them?” I asked.

  “No,” he answered quickly, almost looking offended to be questioned.

  I smiled and met Rhydian’s look with a nod.

  “She’s a lie detector,” he explained, turning back to Kavon. “It’s one of her abilities.”

  That earned a raised eyebrow and a look of intrigue. It made my smile grow.

  “Our plan is to release those who have been imprisoned, allow anyone who wants it access to their abilities, and arrest Dex and the council,” Rhydian said. He folded his arms across his chest and stood tall. He looked powerful. “They will all stand trial for what they’ve done to the people of Eden, my father included. My brother and I aren’t like our uncle and cousin. We don’t wish to kill anyone. We just want to make Eden safe again. For everyone.”

  Kavon reached out and took the vial from my fingers and stared down at it. “And once this is taken, there’s no going back?”

  “No,” I answered. “But if it makes you feel better, I haven’t actually met anyone who dislikes being Tainted. Other than the living in fear part, but that’s what we intend to end. And if for some reason we can’t, Alkwin will be a home for anyone needing it.” I smirked. “Honestly, I like it there more than I did living in Eden anyway.”

  That actually earned a quirking of the lips. I didn’t know if it was at the thought of a new life there or if he was being too kind to tell me he thought I was ridiculous. His eyes never left the yellow liquid, though. We didn’t push him. This had to be something he decided for himself.

  Then he did.

  With a heavy sigh, Kavon pulled the stopper from the vial and held it up. “For King Phineas,” he toasted, then tilted it into his mouth and swallowed it.

  And the first step of our plan had officially begun.

  “It will take about an hour,” Rhydian explained. “You’ll feel something like an adrenaline rush, then be met with a desire to do something. Just listen to your body and trust your instincts. I would like to leave you with one of our communicators, if I can. We have a list of people that are believed to support my family that we’ll be approaching. If we run into any problems with them, we’ll need to have a way of detaining them until after we’re done. Dex ca
n’t know we’re coming.”

  He gave a tight nod. “I can see to it. I’ve also got a few people for you to see, if they aren’t already on your list. I don’t know if they will all be willing to take your serum, but they will fight for Eden’s princes.”

  Rhydian gave an appreciative nod and handed Kavon the tablet.

  “We plan to move as soon as we can release the prisoners at nightfall,” he said while the Sentry added the names of his people. “We’ll be gathering everyone we can get there, then assignments will be handed out.”

  After handing the list back, which now had an additional six names on it, Rhydian walked Kavon through using the communicator. We also agreed to send two of his men to him after we spoke with them. That way they would be ready in the event they needed to step in if there was trouble.

  As we turned to leave, Kavon stopped us. “Hold on there,” he said, then looked over his shoulder. “Hey, honey!”

  Rhydian and I exchanged a look as a woman walked in from deeper in the house. She appeared startled as she looked between us, which gave me the impression she hadn’t actually heard anything we had talked about. She ran her hands down the front of her Maker jumpsuit and walked up to stand next to her husband. She was nervous, even with the relaxed way he was with us.

  “You want to be Tainted and take back our city?” Kavon asked her.

  Her eyebrows shot up nearly to her hairline as she looked between the three of us again. I actually laughed at his forwardness with it.

  “What?” she asked, almost sputtering. “Is that a joke?”

  He smiled warmly and shook his head. “Prince Evran, this is my wife, Neema. Neema, Prince Evran, and…”

  He trailed off, and I realized I hadn’t actually been introduced to him. “Leeya Harkins.”

  Kavon narrowed his eyes. “You Dallin’s girl?”

  “One of two,” I smiled. “My twin was one of the people we rescued from the facility.”

  Neema took the moments during our exchange to snap out of her shock. Her husband looked down again and asked, “So, do you want to be Tainted?”

  Neema shrugged. “Sure.”

  It hadn’t really been part of our plan to offer it to anyone who wanted it, but when I looked at Rhydian, he shrugged himself. We had come more than prepared, with close to five hundred doses. Not that we actually expected to give out anywhere near that much. But it was better to have extra than not enough. So I reached into my pocket and pulled out another one, passing it to her.

  She didn’t even hesitate. It wasn’t about having a prince here requesting it. It was about trusting her husband.

  “What do you need me to do?” she asked, pocketing the empty vial when she was done.

  Kavon smiled. “She has access to the systems for both the prison and the palace.”

  “Is there a way to unlock the cell doors in the prison externally?” Rhydian asked, eager.

  Neema answered with a wicked grin.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  GRYFFIN

  “How do I look?” I asked as I stepped out of the shadows between two buildings. I’d ducked between them to change. It hadn’t been safe to walk through Eden either in the yellow jumpsuit or my current face. It was crucial that no one suspected what we were doing.

  Paxton looked over from where he was monitoring the walkway. A visible shudder moved through him. I took that as a good sign.

  “Scary,” he said, taking me in entirely. “But that’s just because you look exactly like my father.”

  Perfect. While I now looked like one of the Meltzer men, the same could not be said for his son. Paxton’s dark skin and hair had both been lightened, making him appear like a completely different person. Although it wasn’t as easy as it was for me, it was still pretty amazing such products existed. Apparently they had been created by Makers that were part of the Tainted organization within Eden. One of the ways they had been able to remain undetected for this long.

  I reached for the band on my wrist and pressed the buttons Rhydian had informed me to use. It took only a matter of seconds before there was a click and a voice.

  “Go.”

  “Leopard?” I asked. It was the code word designated for Othman Meltzer. A dangerous creature marked in the black of Sentry and the golden yellow of the council. It seemed fitting.

  “Occupied,” the man responded. “Lunch has just begun.”

  “Moving now,” I countered, then disconnected. As long as no one suspected anything, we should have at least an hour to complete everything we needed to get done.

  “We’re a go,” I said to Paxton. He nodded, then we started walking toward the main entrance of the prison.

  The large structure sat at the opposite side of Eden as the palace, tucked up against the wall. The buildings themselves weren’t unsimilar. They both had thick, tall walls. Ones meant to protect and defend should there ever be an attack. Not that one had ever been attempted in the history of our city. That would all change tonight.

  I stood tall and walked with purpose, not even bothering to meet the eye of the Sentry we walked past. It had always been one of the things I loathed about the man. The real man. My father had raised us to believe that we were a part of the people we ruled. Not above them. Meltzer was the opposite. From the time he had taken his place on the council, and likely even before then, he saw anyone under him as a lesser being. Not worth his respect. It went against my nature now to act as such.

  I didn’t say a word as we walked into the main room and stopped in front of the door. We had been lucky that Othman had taken his son with him on occasion when he would come to visit someone. And, just as Paxton had said they would, no one at the desk did anything more than give a respectful greeting before pressing the button to unlock the large door that led us into the heart of the prison.

  Leeya’s plan was working just as we had hoped.

  A cold chill moved through me as the door closed behind us and we looked down at the long hallway, bars lining one wall. It reminded me too much of the facility, although it was somehow colder. Even more hopeless.

  “The records show that those arrested prior to this were all moved to a separate wing further down,” Paxton said. “That way they weren’t corrupted by those acting against the crown.”

  I only nodded. We had to be careful what was said while we were here. We had been assured that we would be fine if talking quietly to the prisoners, but no one had been able to answer whether or not there was audio surveillance in the halls.

  I walked toward the first cell, checking the name on the screen next to it against the one on my tablet. Niklas Mackie. Sentry.

  “Who is the true king?” I asked, facing the man sitting on the cot inside.

  He was close to my age, with short black hair and a build similar to most Sentry. Unlike the usual uniforms, he was wearing a pale blue set in the same style as the ones they had made us wear in the facility. And there was a deep scowl fixed on his face when he stared back at me.

  “King Gryffin,” he said scornfully. No wonder my cousin had sought to lock up those who weren’t supporting him. Even when imprisoned and face-to-face with a man like Othman Meltzer, the man stood strong behind his convictions. People like this would never just sit back and wait to see what happened.

  I smiled and leaned forward as far as I could, then let my mask drop away just long enough for him to get a good look at me. His eyes widened, his body going rigid. I couldn’t blame him for not believing what he was seeing. I’d had the same reaction when I looked at myself in the mirror that first time I’d shifted when my abilities presented.

  “Good answer,” I said. I reverted my face back to Meltzer’s and straightened. “I’ll make this quick. We’re getting all of you out of here tonight so Dex and the council can be arrested. Would you like to have access to your dormant Tainted abilities before then?”

  Sentry Mackie stood and walked toward me. He was studying my face, almost like he was trying to see if a different angle wou
ld make him see the real me again.

  “You’re joking, right?” he asked, stopping just in front of me.

  I reached into the bag I was carrying and pulled out a vial, holding it up where it wouldn’t be seen by the cameras in the hall. “Actually, I’m not. This will wake them up. I can’t tell you what they’ll be, but they will give you some kind of advantage against Dex’s Sentry.”

  Mackie snatched it from my hand, holding it between us so that my body blocked him from view when he swallowed it.