Time Before the Wolf

by RR Turock

Chapter 8: Only One

  Trailing back past the ironworks, I held Father's pipe tightly within the bag. Although I had my reservations, I now consent, Asaph really knew his way to my good list. I paused to listen to the banging of the ironworks. The sounds were comforting.

  A voice addressed me. "Hey, you're that girl, Piper, right? The one from the parade."

  I looked around in surprise. I rebuked myself; I always forget I'm on the run. Since most people care little for the concerns of the corrupted Families and Deion, few would bother to turn me in. Still, it takes only one to call the guards. An ironworker approached me, waving.

  Feeling calmer, I answered. "You know me?"

  He nodded congenially. "And I knew your father. We worked together in the ironworks. When did you grow so old, child? You should let your father make the announcement. Many painful things will happen if you do this."

  I could feel cold chills running up my spine. "What do you mean?"

  The ironworker sighed. Covered in soot and dust, his face was indistinct and unclear. "You've sown the wind, and you will reap the whirlwind, child. The Wing and Hoof families have been planning this feast since your father's banishment. If Deion hasn't sent assassins already, then the Families will. They plan to put either of the Family heirs, Asaph or Diomedes on the throne. You should hide until the next caravan and escape when it leaves Karrazard."

  His words sank in my heart. I argued indignantly. "We can't let them have control. Why hasn't anyone gone to the King?"

  He shook his head. "They say preparation for the Feast fatigues him and he will to see to the matters after the Feast. The Families use their personal militia to be certain the King is not disturbed. Deion also sees to this with his own."

  I bit my lip. "Will my crew be in danger? Isn't there some merchant or ironworker who can hide them until the end of the Feast?"

  Glancing around, the ironworker signaled me to move closer to the wall, hiding in the shadows. He responded, "The merchants who helped your father escape those eleven years ago were exiled by Deion for other “illegal” reasons. The Wing and Hoof Families have now threatened any merchant or ironworker who could help you.”

  My eyes narrowed. “So, why are you helping me?”

  His tense expression softened slightly. “What happens to a cornered animal? We bite. Don’t think merchants will back down without a fight. We not have the song, child, but we have our voices. Besides, so long as Asaph continues creating strife between the Families, they won’t be a collective strength.”

  I nodded, becoming pensive. “But Deion can use the weakened Families to grow stronger.”

  Scratching his ashen face, the ironworker consented. “He has grown in power, and now he breaks rules in broad daylight. That’s why he could order your arrest, yet not allowed to insult your royal blood. We, mere city-dwellers have power to strike against the Wings and Hoofs, but never against Deion.

  “The Wings were supposed to represent the rights of the merchants, so if we stand together, we can pull them down. The Hoofs were made of ironworkers. If we stand together, if we say no more and replace them with wise people, then it will happen. But we have no power against Deion. For anyone to stand against him a great change must be made.”

  I swallowed. A change I would make when I chose the heir. I concluded. “I can’t run away. I will have to stand in Father’s place on the night of the Feast.”

  Shaking his head, the ironworker gave in. “Then, I will speak among the ironworkers and the merchants to see what we can do. Understand we will probably not stand with you in the fateful moment. That is the nature of people.”

  I winked. “If only one person can decide the heir, then I need only God to stand with me.”

  A shadow lengthened at the end of the street, attracting both our attentions. Diomedes moved into sight. Glancing back to warn the ironworker, I saw nothing. He had completely vanished, as though never there. Biting my lip, I reprimanded myself since I never asked his name.

  My hairs rose and I dropped into a roll, dodging a solid steel arrow. I also forgot Diomedes still wanted to catch me. My distraction allowed him to get close, drawing his thin saber. I parried the attack with one of the twin blades from my leg bindings.

  I shrugged off the clash. “What’s with the formalities, Diomedes? Don’t recognize me?”

  He grumbled, his eyes narrowing. “Of course. You’re the girl claiming to know the Piper’s Song. What about it?”

  Giving the pretense of poutiness, I replied unhappily. “Not that. We were childhood friends.” I demonstrated small with my hands. “Yay high, and you couldn’t swim, so we just played by the river. I had piggy tails as a kid, and now I have braided hair, so that’s all that changed.”

  Seeming aghast, Diomedes retorted, striking with his saber several more times. “Impossible. I don’t know you.”

  Defending, I tapped my chin a few times. “I didn’t ever go by C’lyris. Most people called me generically Piper. You use to call me Piper, remember?”

  A sense of recognition suddenly flashed across his face and he blushed. “That can’t be.”

  I nodded vibrantly. “It is true. I’m the Piper you knew as a child.”

  Pain settled in the back of his gold eyes as he spoke. “Just because we were friends as children won’t stop me from doing my duty. If I do what is necessary, however abhorrent, I will get the power to change everything. I will be able to right things from there on.”

  This time, my expression narrowed. “So you’re doing the bad to eventually do good? I don’t understand why anyone would think that.”

  Diomedes scowled, waving his arms. “You are still a child. The world isn’t black and white, Piper. There isn’t a definite line between good and evil. They most both coexist in order to remain. That’s just the way things are. Accept it and move on.”

  Indignant, I argued. “No. I refuse to believe that. Shadows don’t exist except with light, but light don’t need shadows to exist. Good and evil are separate. How can you even say that their connected? You are silly and I’m leaving. See you another time, Diomedes.”

  Taking advantage of his shock, I scaled the wall, pulling myself up with each wooden support until I reached the roof. Looking around, I spotted the perfect spot to be; the Palace roof. The dome was smooth and mostly flight, not to mention the highest spot beside a tower that over looked the King’s Announcement Yard, where people gathered to listen and celebrate. From here, I could see decorations starting to be set up for the long awaited Feast of Harmony.

  I made my way from flat rooftop to flat rooftop until there was the gap between the last rooftop and the palace. From here, I simply snuck over the short palace walls, to the building and scaled the walls quietly. The guards—on the lookout for weary merchants and angry ironworkers—seldom looked behind them at the palace wall.

  I opened a secret hatch and worked my way around the spherical insides to a ladder that led to the hatch to the roof. According to Father, this was how he and Mother secretly met. With ease, I reached the dome’s surface. Up here, it was free and open. I glanced around, spotting a dark figure lying not far from me. Blinking a few times, I recognized Asaph.

  He also noticed my arrival. A grin started to spread over his visage. “Welcome to the Palace.”

  I grimaced back. “I’ve been here before, thanks. What are you doing here?”

  I took a seat near him, not too close. Asaph shrugged. “I come here occasionally. The fresh air and freedom helps me think. It’s not easy keeping a council of old men, former ironworkers, at bay all the time. They constantly want something and unsatisfied with what I give them.”

  My arms folded over my chest as I spoke to him. “Were you the one who told Diomedes good and evil must coexist? Because he was fine when I left him, and now he’s changed a little too much.”

  A long silence fell as Asaph stared at me unnervingly. Finally, he answered. “No. He just picked it up when he realized he lacked t
he full support of the Wing Family. You see, the key difference between us is the fact that he was born in his position, while I forced my way to the top. And Hoofs seldom disobey me or work without my explicit command, while the Wings seldom listened to Diomedes before he became the vicious man he is today. Sometimes, to demonstrate his strength, he goes too far.”

  I queried. “And you don’t?”

  My company paused again. “Nope. I made one example and it was enough. Did his roughness surprise you? Don’t be, he’s still a softy on the inside; just a little confused.”

  My brows rose. “Are you defending him or insulting him?”

  He laid back down on the cot, resting his head on his braided fingers. “Don’t misunderstand. I don’t like him. I just don’t like assumptions. And yes, I believe evil has to be done to provide a good at the end.”

  I gestured at him angrily, making my way back to the hatch down to floor level. “I don’t!”