by B. T. Narro
“What are you getting at?” Aliana asked.
“Because I have,” Kataleya said with a thumb to her chest. “Anyone? Reuben?”
“My family doesn’t speak with the Priggs. We believe Luther to be…” He stopped himself.
“What?” Kataleya prompted. “It’s important that you say it.”
“Less than nobility.”
“And why is that?” she prompted again.
“Because of his alleged affairs with common women. However, he is not a dishonest man, like you imply.”
“Is it not dishonest to break your wedding vows?”
“It doesn’t prove he’s the one working with the dark mages. And there is not even any proof of his infidelity. This is what you’ve stopped us to discuss?” Reuben sounded furious. “Now I suspect you even more, Kataleya. You are clearly desperate to shift the blame to someone else. First you accuse Aliana, and now you accuse Luther. Are you going to accuse my family next?”
She looked to be holding in rage as she had a few breaths. “Don’t you see what I’m saying, Reuben?”
He appeared confused.
“Don’t any of you see it?”
I suddenly realized what she was implying, but it didn’t feel right for me to say it. Perhaps even Kataleya knew she shouldn’t be the one to say this.
It could only be Aliana.
Eden must’ve realized as well, as she opened her mouth and looked at Aliana. Remi was next.
The boys didn’t understand, however, probably because Aliana had never shared her past with them as she had with me. The boys did start looking at Aliana curiously, though.
“What?” Charlie asked. “I don’t understand.”
Aliana’s mouth remained open as she looked at Kataleya, who raised her eyebrows almost apologetically.
“My god,” Aliana said, infuriated. “Are you not only implying that this man, Luther Prigg, who I have never even heard of, is my father, but also that I am the traitor because of my possible connection with him?”
“Well I know I’m not the traitor, and I don’t see who else it could be!”
“What makes you think he’s my father?”
“You look like him, Aliana!” Kataleya yelled with a strong gesture. “You have his bronze skin!”
“That’s it?” Aliana asked incredulously. “You’re saying all of this just because we share the same skin color?”
“You told me your father is probably someone with money. Your mother has light skin, and you do not. He has money. He has your skin. He’s known to have consorted with common women. I bet if we look closer, we’ll see other similarities as well. I don’t mean to offend you or anyone here; I’m just trying to prove my innocence. You have to understand that these are clues we shouldn’t overlook.” She glanced desperately at the rest of us. “Right? This is important to discuss!”
“But no one else here has seen Luther,” Eden countered. “We don’t even know if what you say is true.”
“Come on!” Kataleya’s voice broke as if she might cry. She had a breath, clearly gathering her strength. “I’m telling you the truth. I’m being honest. I always have been, but I’m suspecting that Aliana has not been honest with us. She claims that she doesn’t know her father. I think she does. I think she has been working with him for a while now. And I think he’s the one working with Cason. It makes much more sense than it being my family, who have always been open about our dealings with the king. My father couldn’t hide something like plotting with Cason, but Luther could. He’s always been secretive. Reuben, you have to admit that what I’m saying is at least likely.”
Reuben thought with a crinkle in his brow. “I suppose it is likely.”
We all slowly turned to Aliana.
Her eyes went wide. “I have never heard of the man! Never! I’ll swear on anything! I swear on my life. I swear on my mother’s life.”
She sounded to be telling the truth, but so had Kataleya.
I wondered if it was possible that Aliana had been sharing information with her mother without knowing that her mother was sharing it with Luther. Aliana could’ve been helping our enemies without even knowing it. She admitted that she had told her mother about my range of mana.
Yes, that seemed possible. Our enemies could’ve seen us leaving the castle and plotted the attack without someone here being a traitor. Or was that just what I wanted to believe?
It was, because I had forgotten to consider the callring. If the traitor was Aliana’s mother all this time, and Aliana wasn’t aware, the ring doesn’t make any sense. Somebody used the callring and hid it in Kataleya’s room, and it had to be someone who knew the implication, someone who really was working with Cason.
Some bickering started to break out, but I raised my voice and stepped into the circle. “Hold on!”
They quieted.
“Let’s think about all the possibilities before we start accusing each other.”
“Too late for that,” Michael corrected me.
“Before we make this worse,” I added.
He nodded.
“Let’s say we trust this dark mage we captured from the forest, though we should admit that the information he gave the king could be wrong.”
I waited to see some people nodding before continuing.
“So if we trust his information to be right, then only Kataleya’s father or Luther Prigg, who might be Aliana’s father—but we don’t know that for sure—are working with Cason. Right?”
More nodded.
“I really think he’s Aliana’s—” Kataleya said, but I raised my hand to cut her off.
“Wait. Please let me finish.”
“All right.”
“A callring was found in Kataleya’s room. We know someone could’ve planted that there, or perhaps even the king’s councilman put it there. We know that’s possible, Kataleya.”
“I’m glad to hear you say it.”
“We also have to look at the possibility that just because it might be Kataleya’s father or Aliana’s possible father, that Kataleya or Aliana might not be the ones who are helping them work against us.”
“Oh come on, Jon,” Reuben said with a roll of his eyes. “What are the chances of that?”
“It’s not chances we’re talking about here. We were betrayed. That’s a fact. Cason knew where I would be and when I would be there. He tried to corrupt me. Grufaeragar almost died, and so did you, Reuben. Later, a prisoner talked and we found a callring. These things happened. There is an explanation for them, and chances have nothing to do with it. We have to look at every possibility. You must at least admit that it is possible that someone besides Kataleya or Aliana is responsible for this?”
“Fine, I admit that.”
“We also have to admit,” I continued, “that having a traitor in the castle could cause us serious damage later. However, there’s probably nothing we can say right now that is going to prove who it is. None of us has any evidence, or it would’ve come out already. We only have theories. So what we need to do first is figure out who it can’t be.” I noticed Kataleya looking at me as if she didn’t like what I was saying. In fact, most of my peers didn’t seem to appreciate these words. But I didn’t need them to appreciate my words. They just had to listen.
“Think about it,” I added. “Finding out who’s the traitor is important, but it’s also a waste of our time right now because we can’t prove anything except who’s innocent. That’s what I say we do. Going forward, we keep tabs on those of us who might’ve done this, and we move on. Let the king figure out what to do when we get back. I came here to learn an illusion, and I know it’s going to take me time, so we can’t stay here arguing all night.”
“I agree, Jon,” Kataleya said.
Everyone was nodding now.
“So who’s innocent then?” Michael prompted. “Obviously me, because, uh…”
“You’re too dumb to have done this?” Eden teased.
“Right. Wait.”
; A few of us shared a much-needed laugh. Actually, just Eden and I laughed. Michael’s was more of an irritated chuckle.
“I really am innocent,” he said seriously. “But I’m not exactly sure how to prove it.”
“I didn’t mean we should take it upon ourselves to prove it,” I specified. “I thought we could just look at facts. I would say there’s no chance I’m the traitor because I was targeted by Cason early on, and I’ve had my life in jeopardy a few times now because of our enemies.”
“I’m sure we all agree it’s not you, Jon,” Michael said, as if this was plainly obvious.
I gave anyone a chance to object, and I was glad no one did.
“I would add that Reuben is also not the traitor,” I said, “because he fought the dark mages with me in the castle and nearly died from the wound one gave him.”
“Of course I’m not the traitor.”
“But the woman cut him on his leg,” Kataleya said. “He could’ve been working with them, and she cut him and fled thinking he wouldn’t bleed out. It could’ve been an accident that she cut him so deeply.”
“She threw me against a wall with dteria and slashed my leg aggressively as she ran away!” Reuben said. “And I would’ve killed her if she hadn’t.”
“Did you see the woman cut him?” I asked Kataleya.
“I didn’t see,” Kataleya said. “I arrived too late.”
“And why were you so late?” Reuben accused.
“Because you and Jon told me to stay behind,” she argued.
“Then why didn’t you stay back?” he asked. “You came late when you knew it was almost over, because you didn’t want us to know you were a traitor.”
“I came late because I was afraid!” she yelled. “I’m ashamed to admit it. It took me some time to gather my courage, all right?”
“I think you’re a liar.”
“You’re the liar if there is one!”
“Hold on,” I said. “This isn’t helping.”
“It is,” Kataleya said. “I’m trying to tell you that we can’t guarantee Reuben is innocent.”
“She has a point,” Michael agreed.
“Let’s move on, then,” I said.
“Wait, I am innocent—”
“Then think of a way to prove it, Reuben, as we continue,” I interrupted. “I think we can all agree that Charlie is innocent, not just because of who he is, but because he called us back with the callring when the castle came under attack. I also saw him intervene in Grufaeragar’s murder by melting the head of an ax.”
Everyone nodded. Charlie smiled.
Unfortunately, that’s all I had. I couldn’t even think of a reason to prove that Michael was innocent. I looked at him, hoping he would come up with something.
“I fought against the dark mages in the forest,” he said. “I didn’t have to do that. It would’ve been much easier to stay behind. I ran all the way there from the castle with Aliana and Remi. I would say that makes us three innocent.”
“Unless,” Kataleya said, “one of you is the traitor and you went only to observe, maybe even help defeat us. However, you saw that we were winning and realized it was better to conceal your identity, so you fought with us.”
Michael stared at her for a moment, then clicked his tongue. “Damn Kat, I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“It takes a traitor to think like one.” Reuben spoke snidely.
Kataleya rolled her eyes. “I’m just being thorough. What else? Anyone?”
“Doesn’t one of us have to have a connection to your father or this Luther Prigg for any of this to make sense?” Eden asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“That should rule out me. I’m just the daughter of a barber. How am I going to have any connection with nobility?”
It made me realize I knew very little about Eden. She always seemed to put care into her thick dark hair, wearing it in a somewhat unique style where most of it was combed to fall down over the front of one shoulder. I supposed it made sense that her father was a barber, but I didn’t agree that that one fact made her innocent.
“How did you come to be at the castle?” I asked.
“Through Greda, actually.”
That’s right, Eden did mention they were friends.
“The girl from the magic shop?” Michael asked.
“Yeah, ‘the girl from the magic shop,’ ” she mocked. “But she’s not just that to me. We’ve been friends a long time.”
“How did you befriend her?” Michael asked.
Eden seemed a little surprised by his follow-up question as she glanced around as if expecting someone to interrupt. “I’m really on trial here? Me?”
“Almost everyone is,” I reminded her. “Charlie and I would be as well if there wasn’t proof in our favor.”
“So what…you want my life story?”
“There’s a difference between a few words and your life story,” Kataleya muttered with a slight roll of her eyes.
“You already know everything about me,” Eden told her.
“Yes, but the boys don’t.”
“Ugh. Fine. Pay attention because I don’t want to repeat any of this. My father was a barber, but he wasn’t a very good one. It didn’t take me long to take over his business because he was out drinking and gambling most of the time, though that didn’t stop him from showing up and demanding money that I’d earned. Eventually, he had to leave the city because, you know, poor choices. I don’t know what exactly. I stopped caring about him long ago. My mother was a servant for another household, a good mother. Busy. I spent most of my time working as a barber even though I was young because we needed the money, though I only cut hair, no surgical work. My barbershop was near Enchanted Devices. I don’t know when I started talking with Greda, but it’s been years. She introduced me to magic, enchanting specifically, and I realized I had a knack for it. One day Barrett just showed up at my barbershop and told me about the opportunity. He’d gone to see Greda first, but she actually has a life, unlike I did. I then told my mother to sell the barbershop because I wasn’t going to be coming back. That’s it, give or take a few things.”
“You’re Cess also, right?” Michael asked, referring to her religious beliefs.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just thought I’d remind everyone.”
“So I believe god died on the Day of Death. So does Leon. And I believe the demigods are real, and so does Kataleya. Doesn’t matter. The point is I’m innocent because I can’t possibly be connected to nobility. Who’s next?”
“That doesn’t prove you’re innocent,” Kataleya said. “It just proves you’re unlikely to be the traitor.”
“I’m sorry, Eden,” Aliana said. “But I agree with Kat.”
Eden scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’m not proven innocent yet.”
“Remi?” Aliana asked.
The shy girl of the group looked over in shock.
“We don’t know a lot about you,” Aliana said carefully, as if her words might startle Remi into running off. “You’ve never talked about your past, at least around me.” She checked to see if Eden and Kataleya agreed. Both nodded.
“It’s not me,” Remi said. “I would never hurt anyone here.”
Reuben laughed scornfully. “Says you after you struck me illegally during a duel!”
“That was because you were being an ass!” Remi retorted in a loud voice, shocking many of us into laughing. She formed a little smile before glancing at Reuben, found him glaring, and then lowered her head again as she lost her grin. “And because I just wanted to train, and I had to win to do that. I’m sorry, Reuben.”
“Just don’t lie about who you are,” he said. “Who is your family?”
She continued to stare at the ground.
“Remi Ryler,” Charlie answered. “The Rylers are farmers from a small town a few miles from Newhaven.”
She looked at Charlie quizzically. “How do you know that?”
Karl was the blacksmith who had raised Charlie after apparently finding baby Charlie in a barrel one day, abandoned by his parents.
“Fourteen, I believe,” Charlie continued as his eyes lifted to help him access his memories. “Veronica Ryler, I think was her name. She was missing. I heard Karl asking about Veronica while I was working on a sword. She and Gerald had just gotten married, but she suddenly disappeared during the night. He was worried and was desperate to find her.” Charlie’s eyes went back down. “That’s all I remember.”
Remi had gone white.
“When was this, Charlie?” I asked nervously.
“Three years ago.”
All of us stared at Remi in shock.
“Um, Remi?” Eden asked, then paused for a long time. “Can we see your identification papers?”
Remi shook her head as she backed away from us.
“Remi…” Eden tried again. “Running would be an admission of guilt.”
Remi was shaking her head. “It’s not that. I just didn’t want…I never wanted any of you to know.”
“You’re married!?” Michael asked incredulously.
“No, I said Veronica,” Charlie corrected him.
“Charlie…” Michael said, gesturing at Remi.
“What?”
“That’s Veronica!”
“What?”
“Yes.”
“Are you?” Charlie asked her in disbelief.
Remi appeared horrified as she stared at all of us. Eventually, her shoulders relaxed as her head drooped. She gave a nod.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It took a moment for everyone to calm down. Reuben was the last to stop shouting.
“You’re more of a liar than anyone. Remi isn’t even your birth name!”
“Enough, Reuben,” Kataleya said. “Let her explain.”
Remi swallowed as she glanced at us.
“I didn’t tell anyone, because…” She stopped and looked around hopefully as if we might let her out of this, but no one helped her. It was finally time she spoke more than a few words. “Because it doesn’t matter, and…” There was another pause as she looked at us again.
