by Holly Hook
“You don't think I do? I can watch anyone I please. It's quite easy for someone with my power. Usually, I just get interested in someone for a while and get bored, but you, Riley, you have sparked my interest. It's not just because of your royal status.”
One of the Lateinian soldiers called in for a helicopter, and another one put Riley's hands in front of her and handcuffed her. By now, she'd gone numb, so much so that she couldn't even speak. She couldn't even get out an insult like Kiki no doubt would have. Was she really as soft as the Emperor said she was? The thought made her want to puke all over the grass, or better yet, him. Of course the Emperor wouldn't want an aggressive woman like Kiki. He wanted someone he could easily control, like the people of Lateine. That was what he was about. And if he could possess one of her soldiers from so far away, what could he do to her?
The guards sat Riley down on the grass, handcuffed. No one said a word to each other. Riley watched Ivan as he gazed into the sky, admiring the beautiful day. Or watching for the helicopter that would take her from Keilara forever.
Chapter Eight
The Lateinian helicopter arrived soon after, blowing down trees and grass, and the Lateinian soldiers escorted Riley and Ivan to it without a word. They acted like robots, without free wills of their own. Maybe the Emperor had made them that way over the centuries, with his wacky ability to watch anyone and take possession of people.
"Have a seat, my dear," Ivan said, indicating one of the leather chairs in the interior of the helicopter. "You'll have a wonderful view of my empire before we land."
Riley kept her gaze trained on the metal floor, the steel-gray curtains hiding the pilot from view, anything but Emperor Ivan. Luckily, he said nothing to this as he sat next to her, making the leather of the seat squeak.
The Lateinian soldiers stayed behind them, probably to take the Keilaran survivors somewhere for the military to find later. Gray specks grew smaller beneath her as the helicopter took off to the northeast toward Lateine. Trees spun in Riley's vision as they gained altitude, the blades above them making branches bend and grass sway. Her family would know something was up by now, after losing contact with the armored van. But what could they do with two invasions going on? Her parents couldn't just invade Lateine in the state that they were in, or ever. Her highly experienced soldiers hadn't even escaped a force of magic users.
The fact settled down inside her like a heavy boulder. She was on her own here.
No one spoke for much of the trip. The pilot took the helicopter on a large loop around Frelladon, no doubt trying to avoid detection. The city sparkled orange in the distance, as if it were being set on fire by the setting sun. It might as well have been. She couldn't imagine any decent resolution to all of this. Either Lateine would have all of Keilara or Delainia would destroy it in the process of trying to keep the Emperor from its own borders. Maybe both. There was no chance her country would come out unscathed in all of this.
"Your family will survive, Princess," the Emperor said from behind her. "After all, we will all be the same family very soon. I am the only hope for peace in this world."
Riley opened her mouth to say something crushing to him, but her vocal cords seemed to have seized up. Why couldn't she come up with something, anything to sound a bit tougher? Her silence was what Emperor Ivan wanted.
Frelladon faded in the dimming light behind them as the helicopter continued its northeast course, up the river and towards the nearby border of Lateine. These were areas nobody outside of Lateine knew much about except for the best spies in the military, and even Riley hadn't gotten to hear much about it from her parents. Kiki had told her a few things that Patrick’s contact in Lateine, Revolution Fire, had told him over the years: Lateine was much different than other countries in the area. Most of its citizens lived pretty much in poverty, without any technology other than state-run radio and basic electricity, if they were lucky. The Emperor had practically created a whole religion around himself, erecting statues everywhere and demanding that his photo be hung in every house in Lateine.
The last of the city lights vanished behind them, leaving nothing but a black expanse under the helicopter. Riley stretched out, trying to work out the kinks in her muscles from sitting so long. Her wrists started to hurt from the cuffs holding them together. She stole a glance at Emperor Ivan, who sat cross-legged, staring straight ahead with a smug little smile on his face. Riley wanted to slap it off.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, he faced her. "We approach the border of Lateine, my dear. Mind you, it's very swampy terrain and difficult to cross, hence our passage by helicopter." His words contained more than he said. It was a warning against escape.
Riley felt as if her heart were sinking to her gut. Even if she managed to get away from Ivan, how the hell was she going to get out of Lateine? She didn't know the country at all. No one from the outside did. She was truly on her own here, out here in this black abyss.
After a few more minutes that felt like centuries, faint lights appeared on the horizon. A city. But the lights were faint, nowhere near the glow of Frelladon or even some of the smaller Keilaran cities. Around the faint city, blackness stretched out as far as it could go, as if all of the Lateinians had gathered into that one pool of light. Or perhaps those outside the city didn't have access to electricity. It seemed pretty bleak either way.
"Constance, the location of my palace," Emperor Ivan said, breaking into her thoughts. "Wait until we're closer, and you'll see just how magnificent it is."
"It doesn't look like much," Riley managed, leaning to look out of the helicopter. At least she'd managed to say something.
"Of course not," the Emperor said. "My palace hasn't come into view yet. All you're seeing is the part of Constance my subjects live in."
Riley had to suppress a gag. She'd never met anyone more self-absorbed in her life. All the stories about Ivan seemed to have some truth behind them. He was truly obsessed with himself and didn’t care about his people in the slightest.
The faint lights of the city grew a little brighter as they drew nearer, but not bright enough. Below, small houses, many with cheap tin roofs, started to appear and drift past, lit up by old, rickety streetlights that gave a weak orange glow over potholed streets. No one seemed to be out, with the exception of an occasional soldier in steel gray out patrolling. No cars. No blue glows from televisions inside peoples' windows. One building did look like a dilapidated school, but sported a large statue of Emperor Ivan in its front courtyard. Riley grew a little sicker with each neighborhood and statue they passed. It was surprise the Emperor hadn’t set up any temples or churches dedicated to him yet, but it was probably only a matter of time.
"Here it is, my dear. You're going to be very happy here."
The Emperor's voice cut into her thoughts. Riley looked away from the impoverished city and in the direction of where he was pointing. The helicopter turned at that moment, revealing a massive concrete wall that separated a huge palace from the rest of Constance. Near it, a huge carnival flashed with light and color as people, no more than small dots from this high up, milled around and waited in line for rides and games. A roller coaster screamed down a hill, and Riley could barely hear a chorus of screams over the rotors. It looked so out of place in this hopeless city, except for the statue of the Emperor standing over what looked like the front gates. The statue glared down at the entrance, as if demanding everyone to grovel before it to gain entry to the park. The carnival itself just seemed too good to be true. Ivan didn't seem like the type who wanted his people to enjoy themselves. Quite the opposite. There was a catch behind that carnival, and she was going to find out what it was very soon.
The carnival passed below them as the helicopter descended towards the palace. Huge, pointed towers drifted past the helicopter as sharp windows stared out at Riley like eyes. She let a shudder rush over her. It wasn't like the nice, open palace at home, where there wasn't an enormous concrete wall separating her from the people o
f Frelladon. Emperor Ivan probably never even shook hands with his people. It was a sad thought. What if she had to be behind these walls forever?
A large, open courtyard came up at them, and the helicopter landed with a soft thud. A sick feeling exploded inside Riley. They'd arrived.
To her shock, the Emperor said nothing. He merely climbed out of the helicopter as a few figures in steel gray approached from the direction of the palace. He exchanged some words with them and pointed to her. One of them, a man with a cape, circled around the helicopter to meet her.
Riley stiffened as he appeared in her doorway. She couldn't help it.
"Hello. I'm Imperial Commander Jacob," he said, extending a hand. His voice sounded so young, not like she'd expected at all. "Let me help you down."
Riley faced the voice. A young man who couldn't be more than a few years older than her stood there, gazing at her with deep, brown eyes. His shoulder-length red hair blew around a bit in the breeze. He seemed way too young to be the Imperial Commander, unless all Lateinians had stopped aging, like the Emperor. She let herself relax a little. Already, Jacob seemed a lot nicer than the Emperor. He sure hadn't offered to help her down.
"Thank you," Riley said, standing. Her wrists ached from being stuck in the handcuffs for the past two hours. She tried to wring them out, but it was no use. One of her joints popped so loud the Commander had to have heard it for sure, because he shot her a sympathetic glance. The Emperor sure hadn't cared about that, either.
He took her arm as she stepped down onto the perfectly mowed lawn and spoke in a low voice. "I apologize for what you must have been through today, but I must escort you inside. I'll see about getting those cuffs off your wrists."
"Must you take so long?" the Emperor called. "Your father always worked so much faster than you, Commander. I've had a very long, taxing day."
With another sympathetic glance, Commander Jacob gently pulled her arm and led her towards the sprawling palace.
Riley couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Commander Jacob, or for anyone who worked under the Emperor, period. She couldn't imagine that this Jacob man had ordered the invasion of Frelladon.
Yellow light surrounded her as Jacob led her through the door, to where the Emperor was waiting inside, leaning against a marble table and smiling at her. All the butterflies died in her stomach, to be replaced by cold, hard dread.
Jacob spoke in a calm, even voice. "May we remove the handcuffs, my Emperor? There is no way she can leave the palace grounds."
Ivan leaned closer to her and grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to look in his eyes. They were deep pits, devoid of compassion. “Now, my dear, I will take the handcuffs off, but you have to behave. Can you do that for me?”
Riley nodded, trying to shrink back from his grasp, but he was too strong. Anything to get those off.
"Remove them," he ordered. "Escort her to the guest bedroom. I expect it's been prepared?"
"Yes, my Emperor." Jacob fumbled with some keys, and a moment later, the handcuffs fell from Riley's wrists.
Relief coursed through her arms as she shook them out. Jacob took her arm again and led her down the hall, away from the Emperor. She dared a glance back at him. He stood there, smiling triumphantly back at her as if she were nothing but a prize. To him, she was. Not only her, but her whole country. The thought made her want to throw up all over the floor.
But at least he wasn't the one taking her to her room.
“Thank you,” Riley said as they walked away from Ivan and out of his hearing. She glanced back to make sure he wasn’t following. He wasn’t. The corner to the hallway blocked him from view, which was welcome. Only a portrait of the Emperor hung there, smiling back at her.
“For what?” Jacob said. “Releasing you?” His brown eyes gazed into her own, bewildered.
“No, getting me away from him. Well, that too.” Her tongue wasn’t working right, and she wasn’t sure why.
“Oh, yeah. I bet that's a relief.” He sounded even younger now, as if he’d left his Imperial Commander status behind. Jacob stared ahead for a second, at another portrait of the Emperor and a fountain in a small indoor plaza up ahead. “The Emperor...isn’t the most pleasant person to be around. I’ll even admit that.”
Riley stared at him in shock. This man had to be very close to the Emperor, in his inner circle, even, and he didn’t even like him. She reverted to her royal voice, the one reserved for guests of honor at home. “But you’re his Commander, so I would assume you are an ally.”
“Not by choice. My family’s served him ever since he came into power three hundred years ago.” Jacob lowered his voice and tugged her arm, leading her through the indoor plaza and the gurgling fountain. Gold coins littered the bottom, and a golden statue of the Emperor spewed water out of its hands in the center. “It’s hereditary. The Emperor doesn’t want anyone new in his circle. Doesn’t want anyone from the outside seeing how he lives.”
Riley looked down at the floor as they kept walking down the hallway. The knot in her stomach untied a little. Jacob didn’t seem so bad, and it must take a lot, to admit he didn’t care for the Emperor in his own palace. “Aren’t you scared he’s going to hear you? Or spy on you?”
Jacob stopped and looked up and down the empty plaza. No sounds floated through the air except for the water. “He’s too busy watching others. The citizens. Other rulers. You.” He added the last word as if it had a boulder attached.
Riley shuddered and followed him in glancing around the room. “Could he be—”
“Not likely. You’re here, so he has no need to. Let’s keep moving.”
They passed a pair of maids rolling a cart heaped with covered platters down the hall. Both stared at the floor as they passed. Riley tried to wave to them, but they paid her no attention, as if they were scared her gaze could melt them on the spot. Did all of the Emperor’s employees live in fear like this? The poor women were probably taking him his dinner.
“How can he watch people?” Riley asked.
“He’s the most powerful Lateinian in existence. We can all do it, but not as well as he can,” Jacob said. “Lateinian magic...well, it’s complicated.”
They ascended a flight of stairs, where Riley ran her hand along a polished railing with gold leaf along its sides. The sight of it made her sigh. The Lateinian people were out there living in poverty, while the Emperor probably had gold trim on his toilets. It made her long for Keilara even more. They didn’t have ridiculous stuff like this in their palace, and their people usually had everything they needed. The thought of home and her parents, probably spiraling into a panic by now, made her chest ache.
Jacob put his hand on Riley's back. Riley would have pulled away if it were any other Lateinian at the moment, but the gesture somehow helped her relax, easing the tension in her upper back a bit.
“The wedding won’t be right away. He wants the surrender from your parents first. Right now, you're a pawn.”
Riley’s head spun. “He wants to use me to get them to surrender, you mean.”
“Exactly.” Jacob stopped under a chandelier and unlocked a large, wooden door covered with carvings of stars. Riley couldn’t tell which. “I don’t believe he’s going to kill you, but your parents don’t know that.”
Riley stared at the floor as they entered the guest bedroom. He was right. If her parents thought her life was in danger, they might, just might, surrender.
Riley sat on the bed of the guest room, feeling the comforter. She sank into it a little, surveying the room. At least there were no portraits of the Emperor in here, especially the ones with his shirt off. But the ground to the back courtyard seemed like a long drop, one that no normal person could survive.
Jacob sat in a nearby chair, next to a large mirror. “I can stay for a bit, if you want me to. I’m free to go anywhere in the palace, except the Emperor’s quarters. I live here, actually. I will have to answer his calls, though. With the invasion going on, he’s going to call
for me a lot. It…it wasn’t my idea, by the way. I tried to talk him out of it.”
“I didn’t think it was. I don't want you to go.” Riley said. Stranger or not, having some kind of company other than the Emperor was better than sitting in here alone, worrying about when she’d have to see him again.
“By the way, you’re free to walk around the palace,” Jacob said. “The Emperor wants you to learn your surroundings. Really, I think he just wants to impress you with all the gold in this place.”
That sounded right. Riley managed a snicker, something that would’ve been impossible only minutes ago. “I’m not impressed. Back home, we don’t hog all the wealth for ourselves.” She immediately regretted her comment. “I wasn’t talking about you, of course.”
“No offense taken.”
Jacob’s radio crackled, making Riley jump at the sound. “Commander!” the Emperor called over it, impatience filling his voice. “Aren’t you done yet? I need you in the control room. Keilara’s forces are trying to push back my front!”
Jacob stuffed the radio in his gray pocket. “I have to go,” he said. “I’ll show you around tomorrow. The Emperor shouldn’t bother you with this going on.” He rushed out the door, stopped for a moment, and shot her a smile before he disappeared out into the hall.
Riley fell back onto her bed and let her gaze float out the window. Colored lights from the nearby carnival flashed on the outer walls of the Emperor’s palace. Jacob had gone out to help fight against her country’s forces, but not out of his own free will. It didn’t seem possible in this bleak world, but just maybe it was true, that she wasn’t alone in this place after all.
Chapter Nine
August 23rd, 2017
