“Uh, excuse me?” I glance at Sam and then Wesley. “They said it's not for like hours, still.”
Adam clears his throat and looks down his nose at Josephine. “I believe she's suggesting you leave Galveston. That you run away.”
“Why would she suggest that?” I ask. “Even if I fail, I can choose the Port Head I think is most likely to be a good ruler. Maybe I even have time to talk to a few and get a feel for who has sympathy for the Marked.”
“No,” Adam says, “you won’t be choosing one based on your personal preferences. To contain the spreading of disease and utilize limited secure space as well as we can, we cremate all persons who die.”
“Uh, weird time to share that,” Wesley says. “But duly noted.”
Adam frowns. “The Divination of Ashes is the ceremony in which your ashes are scattered on the winds. God will use the wind to direct your ashes toward whichever Port Head He desires for His next monarch.”
This time when Sam curses, Josephine doesn't even scowl at him.
3
Josephine takes my hand. “We have to get you out of here right away.”
“You have very little faith in God's plan,” Adam says. “Why not stay, study and have faith that God will direct her. She's obviously His chosen.”
“Obviously.” Wesley turns away from Adam and smirks at me.
“Mock if you'd like, but it's clear to those of us who have been watching. She appeared, alive, after a kidnapping and a plague. She knew nothing of her parents and found them anyway. She went to the headquarters for the Marked, and returned still Unmarked. God protected her at the request of his servant King Solomon, when he failed to protect the King himself. Clearly God was ready to pass the mantle of leadership to you.”
“Umm, well, that's all technically true. I am grateful that the work of my father kept me safe.” I suppress a laugh, since Adam doesn't know it wasn't David Solomon who kept me from being Marked. It was Donovan Behl. Or, er, Donald Carillon. The whole dad thing's gotten pretty confusing, even to me.
“So,” Wesley says. “Mom votes run. Head guard votes stay because God will keep you safe. I'm going to go with, how about we look at this edict dear old dad sent and see what it says. Maybe there's a little wiggle room. A loophole through the ashes that might not require complete abandonment of this plan—“ Wesley looks at Adam. “Er, this path that God has set you on.”
“Good idea.” I stand up and walk toward the door. “I'm going to try and find one of these Port Heads and ask for theirs.”
“There should be a copy of all the correspondence that went out in the last month in David's office,” Josephine says. “I'll look for that one.” She ducks out the door before I can even respond. Copies of all of David Solomon's sordid correspondence are in his desk? I should probably be reviewing all of it. I wonder what’s in that pile. An invoice for eye of newt? An edict ordering wives be beaten weekly? Maybe a tax to pay for a larger throne?
“What do you know about the Bible, your Royal Highness?” Adam draws me out of my macabre musings.
I bite my lip. “I wasn't kidding before. Basically nothing.”
Adam crosses the room and picks up a large book bound in black leather, with gold edged pages. He carries it across to the room and sets it on the table in front of me. “If you grew up here, you'd have been studying this book at least thirty minutes a day for your entire life. As it is, you may need to rely on God's guidance.”
I glance at Wesley, who shrugs unhelpfully, and Sam who shakes his head.
“Umm,” I say, “what does that mean? Like, it's an open book test and God will help my finger find the page with the answer on it?”
Adam points at the Bible. “God's prophets teach that if we listen to God's voice, He will tell us what to do in our mind and heart.”
I close my eyes and try not to cry. My insane bio father wants me to be his heir, or ya know, die if I’m not up to speed on the Bible. Being guided by God’s word in my heart isn’t promising as far as plans go.
“We should still review the main verses on prayer, of course, since Port Head Alvarez indicated that she would ask about them, and also Psalms, in light of Port Head Blevin's comment.”
“How's your short term memory?” Wesley asks me.
“It's not bad,” I say, “but. . . five hours, guys. There's no way I could even learn enough to get ten percent right in five hours, and I'm guessing that's not a passing score.” The heft of the enormous, leather bound tome sinks my hopes of crash-studying it.
“How can you not know anything about the Bible?” Adam asks. “Your kidnapper really was godless, huh?”
“The man who raised me while I was apart from David Solomon,” I say, “was busier studying the way the world worked and trying to eliminate disease. If this test was on scientific principles, well, I wouldn't need to cram right now.”
“There's room in the world for both kinds of knowledge, you know,” Adam says. “Religious and scientific don't have to be at war.”
“Maybe we can debate that later, and focus on this test for right now. Prayer I've heard of, but what's this soms thing I'm supposed to study?” I ask.
Adam opens the book and places it on the table, pointing at the heading on one of the pages. “Psalms with a Ps is a book written by a Jewish king named David.”
“Oh,” I say. “Him I've heard of. He killed Goliath, right?”
He smiles. “I’m glad to find that you do know some things.” He points to the page. “He later made some mistakes and had to, hmm. I guess he tried to get God's forgiveness. He wrote Psalms as a request for atonement.”
“What did he do?” I ask.
Adam looks down at his feet. “He fell in love with another man's wife.” He clears his throat.
I can actually see some similarities between that guy and my bio father. “Go on. To atone for that he wrote some poems?”
Adam swallows. “It got a little worse. Since he was a king, he had the power to send the man into battle.”
“Okay.” Wow, this David guy was kind of a villain. “And?”
“He sent him to the front lines and the man died. David married the widow he created by his own manipulation.”
I'm starting to think maybe my biological father's first name, David, was appropriate. I flip through the pages and pages of Psalms and realize there are a hundred and fifty different chapters. I groan. “I only have five hours.” I start to flip through, skimming, and drop my hand in frustration.
“This is a waste of time. If I have to pass this test or die, we should be planning an escape right now, not reading chunks of this gibberish in the hopes some of it will stick. I mean, number 119 has all these little sub-headings. Aleph, Beth, Gimel, and on and on. They could ask about any of this, and I think they will, the sadistic nuts. They have an incentive to make sure I fail, since one of them will rule after I die. Trying to prepare for taking this test is utterly hopeless.”
“You don't need to run.” Sam’s voice drops ominously in volume to a whisper. “If all the Port Heads die, this goes away.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, massacring their leaders sets the perfect tone for how I'll rule my subjects in the new job Solomon foisted off on me. I appreciate the offer Sam, really I do, but I think that's a firm pass on Operation Kill Them All. Rafe wanted me to come straight back and maybe we should do that.”
Adam frowns. “I'm sworn to protect you. Knowing nothing of this edict, the Palace Guard has already sworn our vows to you. It'll be difficult to honor those oaths while you sneak you off the island. The Port Heads will be watching, and they'll have brought their own retinues.”
Josephine enters the doorway, crosses the room, and places a sheet of paper in front of me on the table.
David Solomon's psychopathic edict.
It is hereby decreed that I have a new Heir, my daughter Ruby Solomon. My beloved wife and I have not raised her, but she is intelligent and resourceful. I believe I can teach her all she will need to know
in order to competently rule in my place when I die.
However, it is my wish that should I fail in my attempt to remediate her education, should she not love God and the good word as much as she ought, should she be unable to govern my people under God's direction, should God not desire her to rule in my stead, the rule of my people shall not fall into her hands.
To that end, I entrust you each with a sacred obligation. Test my daughter upon my death by asking her ten questions about the Bible. Ten questions per Port Head, for a total of seventy questions. She must answer more than seventy percent correctly in the standard manner. Failure will prove she doesn't know God. God may then use her to accomplish his Divination of Ashes so that my predecessor may be chosen by my bloodline, from among my dearest friends, as God wills.
As with all things, I trust this matter into God's hands. He shall decide.
David Solomon
Josephine sighs. “I hate the idea of leaving my home. I would slap David if he were still alive for this insanity, but I don't see another solution. We have to run.”
“We?” I ask.
Josephine takes my hand. “I missed the first seventeen years, but that wasn’t my decision. I’d have given up everything to have had the chance to raise you and I won’t miss another day. I'll come with you wherever you go.”
My heart swells. She may be fractured or even downright broken, and she may have failed me over and over, but she does care about me. Late actually is better than never.
“Wait,” Sam says. “You're right, this is insanity.” He glances quickly at Adam and then back to me. “Could he have already been under the influence of Tercera when he sent this?” He raises his eyebrows.
Wesley shakes his head. “No, look at the date.” He glances from me to Sam and back purposefully. “It's a good thing he wasn't, because that would undermine Ruby's right to rule, if when he wrote the very document in which he proclaims her his Heir, he was already mentally unsound.”
“Right,” Sam says.
“Look, I want to prevent the Cleansing. That's the only reason why I'm even here,” I say. “And if I need to pass some quiz Solomon set up with this secret last minute edict, well. I could try, but—”
“No.” Sam slams his hand on the table.
“I agree,” Wesley says. “The downside should you fail, which you likely will, is far too high.”
The tap at the door might have gone unnoticed, but for Sam's hearing. He crosses the room quickly and opens it.
Sawyer Blevins, my dearly departed father's first cousin, pokes his head around the frame. “Ruby, darling, may I come inside?”
Calling me darling reminds me of Solomon and I flinch. “What do you want?”
“Pardon me if I'm speaking out of line, but I've been worried about you.” He steps through the door. “You were with your father for such a short time, and he indicated he planned to update your education, but I doubt he had time to do much. And you looked. . . surprised when we mentioned the Trial by Faith.”
I narrow my eyes. “Why are you here?”
“I was talking with a few of the other Port Heads, and we don't think it's fair that you had so little notice. We thought you might like a. . . Well, a study guide, so to speak, for the questions we plan to ask.”
One of my eyebrows lifts, because this is too good to be true. Dad always taught me that when something seems too easy, it usually is. Sawyer Blevins, loving and considerate first cousin once removed, who has never seen me in my life prior to today, offers me this gift on a silver platter? I don't think so.
“And in return?” I ask.
He grins and I almost cringe when I see David Solomon in it. “Nothing really, a trifle. We only want to guide you and help you recognize God's path, since you've had no real training of your own. When major decisions are made, let us vote on the decision, after careful prayer of course. We have a brief edict of our own that would be your first act as a monarch, turning the burden of certain things over to a vote of a council of Port Heads, which would include you as well.”
“So I wouldn’t be queen? I’d be part of a council, like the Unmarked?”
He shakes his head. “Not at all. We're only suggesting this council to help you. Governing is hard enough with years of experience and education. I can't imagine how daunting it seems for someone as young as you.”
Under his proposal I'd be alive to rule, but I wouldn't really decide anything. It's more than I could achieve on my own with this test, that's for sure. And they'd all be assured a larger slice of the power, instead of taking a risk on having no power at all. Wind's a fickle way to gamble on your new monarch, especially if you don't really believe God's guiding it.
“It's a generous offer and I appreciate your familial concern. You remind me so much of my own darling father,” I purr. “How I miss him.” I force a smile. “Let me confer with my advisors and I'll send one of them to find you in a few moments with my answer.”
Sawyer nods his head and ducks out. Sam shoves the door closed behind him.
“Do it,” Josephine says. “It's better than running or dying, and those are our other options.”
“I'd be a figurehead,” I say. “And that's pointless, because the only reason I even wanted to rule was—”
“To stop the Cleansing.” Josephine practically spits the words. “I know.”
“Rafe was fine with rolling the dice on that earlier. He wanted me to head straight for Baton Rouge. I have what we came for. Sam's safe and Dad's journal's in my room.”
Josephine touches my hand. “Why give up so easily? They can't really make you issue an edict after that Trial by Faith. Why not take their answers, pass the test, and then shred their edict on the spot?”
I shake my head. “They'll be administering the whole thing, Mom. The people know them. They have their own troops. Besides, if I lie and cheat to pass this test, how am I any different than David Solomon?”
“You're different because of why you're doing it,” Wesley says. “If you lie, it's not for power or wealth. It’s to make things right.”
That’s probably exactly how David Solomon started out, rationalizing what was and wasn't right. I'm sick of all of this. “All I ever wanted to do was right the horrible wrong that Dad and Solomon set in motion, along with Dad's crappy partner Jack. That one mistake still controls everything, ruining and ending lives every day. But I don't know what to do about it anymore. Right and wrong are getting all confused.” I sink onto a chair and drop my face in my hands.
Josephine scoffs. “You're worried about one small thing. Life's about more than Tercera. Young people are so short sighted. You have all these noble ideals and plans, and you want to do one good thing and then race off on a white horse with a javelin. Life doesn't work like that. If you're truly a good person, and I believe you are, you'll do so much more good here running the government that controls the lives of over a half million people. Much more good than you can do working in a scientific lab. Think of how long the good you do here will last. This isn't about a few Marked kids. It's about shaping the world and power structure of humanity for centuries to come, and you can only do that if we take this deal and figure out how to keep you in power.”
I bang on the table. “I don't care about the world power structure or my legacy. I have no desire to stay here and mold the future of humanity. I’m here for the people no one cares about. The Marked kids who have nothing because the world took it away when they were too small to matter. I can't help them if I'm the only one who cares and I'm voting against seven selfish jerks just like David Solomon. He made all the rules, set up this entire game, and we're still stuck playing it.”
“If you don't want to accept the offer from Port Head Blevins, and you don't feel you can answer the questions on your own,” Adam says, “there is another option.”
I jump in my seat. I almost forgot he was here. “Yes, I recall your idea that I channel God’s voice or something, but Adam you don't know me. There's absolutely
no chance that God will speak the answers in my mind. Trust me on this one, okay?”
Adam shakes his head. “I don't mean that. I've gathered your lack of faith in His love for you. I'm referring to an option that has existed with WPN since the beginning.”
“What's that?” I ask.
Adam points at the paper on the table. “The edict mentions scoring in the standard manner.”
Josephine inhales sharply. “No. She should take Blevin's offer. It's not that bad, and we can work with it.”
Wesley leaps up from his chair and picks up the edict. “We need to change the rules of this game, and I think Adam may have an idea of how to do that. What does that mean, the standard manner?”
Adam says, “In trials, King Solomon sat on his throne in the Assembly Hall and heard cases, but when he was sick or couldn't attend Judgment, the Port Heads sometimes filled in. When they did they determined what to do in the standard manner, a set of rules King Solomon set in place to settle things. If one of them disagreed the majority would vote. In the edict, it means they can vote on each answer, determine whether it's right or wrong if they disagree with the answer created by the person who proposed the question. Sometimes the answers aren't as clear as you might think.”
I nod. “Okay, but so what?” I glance at Josephine. “Why's my mom freaking out?”
Josephine's nostrils flare. “Adam hasn't gotten to the point yet. All petitioners and accused individuals are offered two sets of options in the standard manner. They may request a hearing to mediate their dispute, or one of the individuals may request a Trial by Fire. It's common when someone has been convicted of a crime, or if one of them disagrees strongly with a ruling.”
“I don't like where this is going,” Sam says. “I still vote that I should remove the source of the problems one by one.”
I roll my eyes. “What does a Trial by Fire involve, exactly?”
“When wicked men forced a king to throw his beloved Daniel into a lion's den,” Adam says, “God shut the mouths of the lions and the next morning, Daniel was fine.”
Sins of Our Ancestors Boxed Set Page 51
