by Sean Platt
Even in those moments of doubt when she had allowed herself to believe that Richmond might be cheating, she’d never imagined what form his affair might take.
How could I not know that my husband was into men?
Why hadn’t he told me? Why couldn’t he tell me?
Olivia wasn’t sure what she would’ve done. Would she have agreed to an open marriage? Perhaps, if he had come to her honestly.
But he had lied and cheated instead. With the enemy, no less.
She thought of the few times she’d seen Slum Lord, showing up drunk at Large Council meetings in the early days and always making an ass of himself. She also thought about the times she’d accompanied Richmond to The Slums to meet about one thing or another, and how their leader had always eyed her so smugly.
Were they fucking even then?
Was Slum Lord smiling at her because he had her man’s heart?
She thought of all the times they’d tried to have kids and couldn’t. Not the miscarriages, but the times he couldn’t even get it up. Was that why? Because he had no interest in women?
She loathed him for lying. Hated him for stealing the last of her fertile years, knowing full well that he would never, maybe could never give her another child.
She thought of him lying with Slum Lord, the two of them with their dirty little secret. And her the blind fool.
She wanted to scream and break things.
Olivia ran toward home, hoping that Richmond was there so she could scream at him, maybe even slap his stupid lying face again.
But she heard a voice that stopped her.
She turned to see General McTaggart approaching on horseback.
Olivia glared at him. “Don’t you dare talk to me.”
“I’m not going to apologize.”
“Good,” Olivia said, walking away, tempted to break back into a run. But she was pissed, and needed someone to unleash on. So she reeled around on the general.
“How dare you bring that shit up during an open meeting? What the hell were you trying to do? No. Never mind.” Olivia shook her head. “I know exactly what you were trying to do — undermine me and my husband because you don’t like how we run things.”
“That is not what I was trying to do. I tried talking to you before the meeting, but you avoided me and surrounded yourself with council members to create a buffer between us.”
Olivia didn’t deny it.
“I do disagree with Richmond on many things, but I believe that you and I are more in sync than you can publicly admit.”
“What’s your point, General? If you don’t mind, I’d like to go home and talk to my husband.”
“About that …”
“What?” Olivia stopped and looked up at McTaggart on his high horse.
“The public is demanding his banishment. Some are calling for his head. According to The Code, Richmond is consorting with an enemy while in office, giving grounds for removal from both his position and this town.”
Olivia knew he was right. She also knew there was no way to stop it if the people and the council wanted him out. “What are you saying?”
“That I don’t think you or your son should pay for his crimes.”
Olivia said nothing, waiting for the general to finish his pitch.
“As Vice Mayor, with majority council support, you can remove Richmond and assume his position. If you do the right thing by banishing him from Hope Springs, you and your son can stay and lead this great city.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I think we both know what happens then. You will lose your position. Your son will lose his opportunity to be a Cadet. And you’ll both likely face banishment alongside your husband.”
“Where would he go?”
The general shrugged. “He can go be with Slum Lord for all I care. Do you, really?”
“He’s still my husband. We have a history together. Of course I care.”
He shook his head. “He didn’t honor that history, why should you?”
Olivia stared at her palms as she rubbed them, wishing she could go back to this morning when the world had been simpler. Before she knew. Before bandits had slaughtered their people, and the general had turned the community on Richmond and forced her hand.
She couldn’t imagine how Elijah was going to handle this. He was still at Val’s so far as Olivia knew. She thought about going over there to warn him, hoping he had yet to hear the news, but then thought better of it. She didn’t want him home when they came for Richmond.
“I don’t know what to do,” Olivia confessed.
“Rarely do people actually mean that. I don’t know what to do usually means, I don’t want to do what I know that I must.”
Of course, the general was right.
Forty-Nine
Elijah Freeman
Elijah carried Pascal’s body to Charlotte and Val, then set him gently on the ground where they were waiting.
Val dropped beside him, crying. “What happened?”
Elijah saw it as if he’d been there. The Light that was once inside Pascal now lived in him. And with it, some of his mentor’s memories.
Elijah’s own emotions were numbed into sedation by The Light, a being that spoke to him in a strange yet familiar voice. Neither male nor female, instead it sorted through his memories for a comforting frequency, finally settling on his grandfather, Richmond Freeman Senior.
“Tell her that his last words were that he loved her very much.”
“His last words … he said that he loved you very much.”
Val cried harder, cradling his head and running her fingers through his hair.
“Tell Charlotte that he’s sorry.”
Sorry for what?
“Just tell her. She’ll know. Eventually.”
“He said to tell you he’s sorry,” Elijah said to Charlotte, then when she looked at him in confusion he added, “I’m not sure what about.”
Charlotte stared at Pascal, and even though Elijah didn’t really know her that well, her feelings might as well have belonged to him.
“She’s remembering her father. How hard it’s been to lose two men in her life.”
What can I do?
“You can hug her.”
Elijah expected Charlotte to flinch like she had after what happened at the dojo, but he went and embraced her anyway.
She hugged him tightly, crying against him, her cheek atop his head. He’d typically feel short and insecure, but his anxieties had been replaced by The Light’s inner calm.
Are you Pascal’s soul?
“I am The Light that lived inside him. I am not from here.”
He never mentioned a … Light inside him.
“He didn’t know I was there. Few do.”
There are more of you, more of your kind?
“There are seven of us left. And we must find the other six before they do.”
Before who does?
“The others and The Darkness. A war is coming and It wants to destroy us. We do not have time to sit. We need to leave. We must warn your parents and get the Registry before they find it.”
The Registry? Why? Are Alts part of the seven? Am I?
“No, but you are fuel for The Darkness or The Light. It wants to find and convert you all to The Darkness. We must get the list before they do.”
Doesn’t the general have it?
“No. Your parents kept the list in a safe place, knowing not to trust anybody else to have the entire thing. It was a precaution your grandfather put in place. Even then he knew it should never be in McTaggart’s hands.”
And what will we do with the list?
“Find the others and protect them. Failing that, destroy the list. Eventually, we must obliterate The Darkness. But right now, we must go.”
Elijah released Charlotte’s hold and approached Val, still crying over Pascal’s body. He explained that he needed to go home to get the Registry, and that the Alts were all in danger until he did.
&nb
sp; “You can’t go back there,” Val said.
“Pascal said that it could be the end of everything if I don’t.”
“What do you mean?” Val stood.
“I can’t explain now. Just please, take Charlotte and Pascal to the inn. Tell the innkeeper to have Pascal buried. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
Elijah bent over and picked Pascal up, then started carrying him to the horse.
“Do you need help?” Val asked.
“I’m stronger than I look.”
She and Charlotte followed Elijah as he carried Pascal to the back of Val’s horse and draped his body like a rolled-up rug across its back.
“I’ll see you soon.” Then Elijah mounted and rode toward Hope Springs.
Fifty
Richmond Freeman
Richmond went to the inn bar after the meeting and started drinking immediately, replaying the moment when Olivia saw the truth. The moment his actions had broken her in the worst possible way.
He’d thought that her love had faded for him as much as his had for her. In all the times he’d considered confessing his affair, Richmond pictured her rage, but he had never imagined the hurt and betrayal like he’d seen in her eyes.
And for that, he hated himself.
Word hadn’t yet spread to the bartender, or customers, so Richmond enjoyed his final few moments of peace in this town as he contemplated what was next, for both himself and his family.
He was ruined. His uncertainty lay in whether his wife and son would be collateral damage in McTaggart’s plan to oust him.
He also wondered why the general was looking to take him out. Was this a naked power grab? Did he think Olivia would be more amenable to his influences?
Maybe she would be, Richmond thought as he drank. Especially now that she had a reason to hate Sebastian.
He regretted hurting Olivia, but Richmond wasn’t sorry that he’d sought the love and affection he needed outside of his marriage. How long was he supposed to exist in misery, ignoring the needs he’d had to bury for nearly all of his life?
More than anything, he lamented what this new reality might mean to his son. Would Elijah lose his place in Cadets? Would he be bullied? Richmond’s family shouldn’t have to live with the consequences of his sins.
He should have been better prepared for McTaggart’s accusation. The general had already threatened him; his bringing it up in an open forum should not have been a surprise. Richmond had incorrectly assumed that McTaggart was missing a few pieces to the story. If he knew everything, or so he had thought, then the general would have been more specific with his accusations that night at the bar.
But apparently he hadn’t been fishing; McTaggart knew it all.
His father would be so disappointed. Richmond Sr. would have seen this coming, and been able to lie with a straight face to turn McTaggart’s accusation back on him.
But Richmond was nowhere close to the politician his father was.
After licking his wounds and getting sloshed, he decided it was time to finally head home and face the music.
It was starting to get dark as a storm came rolling in.
The more Richmond thought about it, the more he blamed Olivia for his misery and sorrow. He’d realized his lie long ago. They had been dating, an arrangement made by their parents. Hers had been among his father’s biggest campaign donors. Their relationship had been built for the convenience of others from the start.
Richmond played along because he believed it was the right thing to do. He’d been in the closet for so long, ashamed of his sexuality, a part of him thought dating a beautiful, strong woman whose personality he genuinely liked might straighten his bend.
It seemed like he could maybe make things work for a while. But the more Richmond tried not to think about men, the more he was drawn to them, visiting faraway places where no one knew his name or reputation as the mayor’s son. He hooked up with strangers, paid for male prostitutes. Just before The Event he met a singer named Sam, a man he had genuine feelings for.
Richmond loved him in a way that he’d never allowed himself to love another. He had to come out as gay and break things off with Olivia.
But when he went to tell her, she had her own surprise news.
Olivia was pregnant.
And just like that his trap had been sprung. Of course he couldn’t leave her. So back in the closet he went, living a lie for too many years.
In his anger, Richmond realized that a part of him hated her for trapping him. A part of him suspected her of anticipating his leaving and getting pregnant to seal her path and political ambitions.
He hated to think of her as so cold and calculating. Some, if not most of this had to be the alcohol talking. But still Richmond ruminated, wondering what might happen next, whether he would be forced to resign or banished from Hope Springs entirely. And if so, then what about Olivia and Elijah?
As vice mayor, she was next in line if he lost the role. Would she take it?
Richmond belted an angry laugh. Of course she would take it. Olivia was pissed at him. Why wouldn’t she seize the power she’d always wanted?
Maybe she had never loved him and it had always been a lie. If so, then they were both accountable.
He tried to push the dark thoughts away. Richmond hated thinking about her this way. He did love Olivia. Just not like that.
As he ambled onto his street, trying to focus enough not to fall on his face, he heard the whispers of people on their evening strolls as they looked at him, as they talked about him, as they judged him.
He glared at an elderly couple.
Fuck you. You don’t even know me.
He was in the darkest of moods. Same as he’d been when ejecting Mr. Kind from the city. He did stupid, self-destructive things when drunk.
Richmond had never even come close to hitting Olivia, but he wasn’t sure if he could refrain if she struck him tonight.
He stepped onto his porch, hoping she wasn’t home. But then he stumbled inside and saw she had company. General McTaggart and Captain Stewart sitting in his living room.
“What’s going on?” Richmond asked.
Olivia stared at him with puffy eyes that held no emotion.
McTaggart looked at him coolly. “Richmond Freeman, you have violated item six of The Code. You are being banished immediately.”
“Bullshit. I demand a trial!”
“There will be no trial, Richmond,” Olivia said. “As mayor of Hope Springs, I am banishing you, effective immediately.”
Richmond shook his head, confused, angry, unwilling to believe what was happening. “No!”
“Don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be,” Olivia said.
“Let’s get your stuff.” McTaggart nodded at a couple of suitcases sitting next to the door. “Your wife has packed your stuff. She’ll send the rest once you’re settled wherever it is you plan to go.”
His world was spinning out of control. He would puke if he didn’t crack in half. “I’m not ready to go. I need to talk to Elijah.”
“He’s not here,” Olivia said. “And I think that’s for the best. You can talk to him later, but … not like this.”
“I’m his father. I won’t just leave without talking to him.”
McTaggart said, “You can and you will. Now get your stuff or we will be required to make this ugly.”
“You want ugly? I’ll show you fucking ugly!” Richmond charged McTaggart and took a swing.
But he badly missed.
The general punched him in the ribs, knocking Richmond to the ground in a pathetic heap.
He could feel his father laughing at him. Get up, you pussy.
McTaggart walked toward him, his boots clopping on the tile floor.
Richmond wanted to hurt him. Wanted to kill the big man for what he’d done. He looked up, staring at his smug and ugly face.
He leapt to his feet.
McTaggart swung, clocking Richmond in the head and sending him back t
o the floor.
Seconds later, Stewart shoved Richmond’s face into the ground, then yanked his arms behind his back and attempted to cuff him.
He squirmed, screaming for the man to get off.
But too late, Richmond was already cuffed.
“I should put you in jail for striking an officer, but that wouldn’t look well for your wife, your son, or for you,” McTaggart said. “I suggest that you allow us to escort you out of town peacefully for the sake of an easy transition of power. Do you understand?”
Richmond reluctantly nodded.
“Say it.”
“I understand,” he spat, his face crushed into his living room floor.
McTaggart rubbed salt in the wound. “If your father could see you now.” Then he spat a foot from Richmond’s nose and left the room.
Olivia followed behind him.
Richmond was in the back of a covered wagon as Stewart brought him to the stable by the front gates.
The wagon stopped and Richmond got out to a chorus of boos from the crowd of a few hundred citizens gathered to see the former mayor off.
He glanced up and someone threw a rock at his face.
One of the half-dozen Rangers stationed at the stables charged into the crowd, grabbed a young man, and carted him off as he pinwheeled and kicked.
“Come on.” Stewart grabbed his arm and lead him out of harm’s way.
He kept his head down as cries of “traitor” and “slum-fucker” and “faggot” were hurled his way.
Shame burned his skin. He had never courted public adoration, or starved from it. As the son of Richmond Sr., it had always just been there. But now he felt what it was like to be shunned.
Like a pox on his soul.
He hated himself, praying to the Gods that his son wouldn’t be burdened by his father’s disgrace.
They entered the stables where Henry smiled his big dim grin. “Good afternoon, Mayor, sir. Your horse is ready.”
At least one person in the city doesn’t hate me.
