Justis' answer chilled me and I shivered.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Are you familiar with the old tales from Fyris?" I asked. "The ones that say to be wise in making wishes?"
"Because they might come to pass and make you regret the wishing?" Justis nodded.
"Yes. Exactly." At that moment, I wanted to walk to Justis' terrace, sit on the grass that covered it and consider what Yevil truly intended to do.
Chapter 15
Halthea examined her wings in Jurris' wide mirror before hurling her hairbrush at the offending glass and shattering it. Shards of glass fell and crashed upon the wood floor of Jurris' dressing room. What did it matter that it was broken—the glassmakers would have another to replace it the moment Jurris asked.
He'd sent her maids away, too, and that infuriated her. She'd had red wings and was entitled to her maids. That filthy Orb and that aberration of a girl had robbed her of her birthright.
Nobody would call her Queen, now. Not with yellow wings.
"What in Liron's name is going on?" Jurris arrived and surveyed the mess Halthea made. "Clean that up. Immediately," he snapped.
"I'm not your servant," Halthea shouted.
"You have yellow wings. You're everyone's servant, now," Jurris hissed. "I've done everything I could to keep you from the gate. Clean that up and stay quiet. I have a meeting with the Guild Masters to attend."
"Pig!" Halthea shouted at Jurris' retreating back.
* * *
Many of the books on Justis' shelves hadn't been touched in a while, and the Yellow Wings who'd cleaned before my arrival hadn't touched them, either. I was dusting them when Justis walked in later to change clothes. He had a Guild Masters' meeting to attend with the King.
"Nasty work?" he queried as he walked past on the way to his closet.
"No. I don't consider dusting books nasty work. It allows me to consider what I'd like to read later."
"I can't believe you'd want to read any of it."
"I can't believe anyone wouldn't."
"You're a strange girl."
"That is nothing new," I replied, pulling down a thick book and wiping dust off the top before tending to the front and back cover. "People in Fyris thought I was mute because I never spoke."
"Why wouldn't you speak?"
"I don't think I could, until I was nine. After that, it was better if I didn't speak. Everybody thought I was mute and stupid. They said things around me that they wouldn't say, otherwise."
"And talking suddenly might get you killed."
"Exactly."
"How bad is it there?" he asked.
"As bad as you can imagine it is, it's worse. Timblor is dead, at the hands of his page. Tamblin is little more than Yevil's puppet. Yevil has attempted to kill Amlis at least three times; Hirill was spying for both sides and is now dead. Is there anything else you'd like to know?" I replaced the book and lifted down another.
Justis blinked dark eyes at me for a moment before muttering a soft curse. "Why should we worry about their deaths?" he added. "They're doing a fine job of killing themselves."
"That doesn't include the people and animals dying of the poison," I said. "Babies are dying. Animals are dying. People are sick from the wasting disease," I shrugged and rustled my feathers. "Kondar wonders where the poison is coming from. Fyris' shield keeps them from learning the answer."
"Kondar knows of the poison?" Justis' eyes widened in surprise.
"Yes. It is spreading far beyond Fyris' shores. When I stood upon the grass while we were in Kondar, I could feel it. The ground groaned at the sickness of it."
"I curse the day that fool killed Elabeth," Justis snapped and strode out of his suite.
"He's no fool," I whispered after Justis. "He's an intelligent evil."
* * *
"Kondar knows of the poison?" Gurnil frowned at Justis. "I thought the shield held it back."
"Somehow, it is escaping Fyris and bleeding into Kondar. Likely through seawater," Justis grumbled. "Elabeth would have held it at bay, just as she always did, had that fool not murdered her and the others."
"The First Ordinance forbids us from revealing Fyris," Ordin tossed up his hand in a helpless gesture.
"It also commands us to hold the poison at bay, but only one Red Wing held that ability. It was always the Queen, who passed it to her heir. Elabeth only had Halthea as an option for the longest time, and for obvious reasons, refused to confer the talent."
"She never thought to die as she did—in her prime," Gurnil huffed. "She waited to see Lirin's red wings I'm sure, before designating her as the heir."
"They couldn't be any other color; Camryn was the Queen's only mate," Justis observed. "Red Wings beget Red Wings."
"There was no question about Lirin's heritage or impending wing color," Gurnil sighed. "Until now."
* * *
"The data was collected by fishing vessels equipped to gather information," Edden Charkisul's Chief of Sciences reported. "You recall that we authorized the equipment and the expense months ago. We finally have results from all the vessels. It's frightening, as well as inexplicable."
"What do you mean, inexplicable?" Edden frowned.
"While the equipment indicates that the poison is seeping from the ocean floor in these areas," the scientist tapped several points along a three-dimensional map, "the drones we've sent down find nothing. The poison is carried in the seawater itself, and is more concentrated along these lines," he drew a track along the map, halfway between Kondar and the southern ice cap.
"How can that be? If it isn't coming from the seabed, then where is it originating?"
"You know there's only volcanic rock from a long-dead volcano field here," the scientist drew a circle on the hovering map. "We've sent drones burrowing through the sand to take samples of the volcanic rock, but there's nothing there, either, except the residue that's infecting other sites just the same. We don't send ships there, because the jagged outcroppings beneath the waters can damage the hulls."
"I'm well aware of the topography of our planet," Edden rubbed his forehead. "This is untenable, and only lends credence to those claiming it's a blight from the gods. We have to find the source, then see if we can contain it."
"We'll get back to work, but I and my staff are at a loss as to where to begin."
"I appreciate your efforts. Keep me informed," Edden mumbled.
"I will."
* * *
"Quin?" The voice woke me after I'd fallen asleep. In my hazy mind, it sounded like Berel Charkisul's voice.
"What?" I mumbled, attempting to wake. I seldom slept so heavily, but I'd been more than weary when I'd gone to bed.
"It's me. Berel."
When my eyes opened enough to see, I found the tab-vid he'd given me glowing beneath my pillow. Until that moment, I had no idea it could be used as a communication device. I was also puzzled that it worked inside Avii castle, but shoved that thought aside.
"Berel?" I tapped the screen of the tab-vid after pulling the device into my hands.
"Good. I was worried I wouldn't reach you," Berel sighed. "I have a question."
"What's that?"
"Do you know anything about the poison?"
Berel's directness numbed my brain for a moment. "I don't know very much," I replied when I could get my mind—and my mouth—to work again. "I know it exists, but I have no idea what it is or how it got here."
"That's pretty much what we know, too," he grumbled. I could see his troubled frown in the tab-vid's screen. "It seems to be increasing, but nobody can find the source of it. It's making people sick. I know how that feels—to be so sick."
"I know," I said, shaking my head at him and praying he wouldn't ask if I knew the source of the poison.
"Are any Avii sick, yet? Father says there is evidence that many fishermen have fallen ill because the poison is in the fish they net in the ocean."
"I haven't noticed any Avii who are ill, and I think they'd
be brought to me if they were," I said.
"Do you think it's safer where you are?" he asked.
"I don't know. It may be that the Avii aren't as susceptible to the poison, but eventually, even they might fall ill."
"Why is it showing up now?" Berel mumbled distractedly. I didn't answer, hoping he hadn't meant it as a direct question to me. As it was, I didn't hold all the facts, and only knew the former Avii Queen had somehow held the poison at bay in the past.
* * *
"This is impossible." Amlis surveyed the troops assembled outside the castle. "Half of them have no uniforms, and even less training. They can't even stand in a straight line for inspection." He and Rodrik, both mounted, watched as Tamblin's officers shouted at the newly recruited soldiers. Uneven lines stretched across the courtyard, and few knew how to stand properly.
"While your father's goals were ambitious, there were not enough experienced soldiers to train what he recruited."
"Recruited is the wrong word," Amlis snorted. "He drafted. All the principalities knew they'd be taxed heavier and the royal arm would be held against their necks if they failed to cooperate. Warrel wouldn't have cooperated if they'd had a choice."
"At least your two new men-at-arms are already trained well enough."
"Is there any way to bring Deeds and Wolter with us?"
"Deeds, yes. Wolter might be a bit of a problem," Rodrik shrugged. "Does your father intend to consume camp rations on the road, or trust the inns to serve proper food?"
"A good question. Let's find out," Amlis' smile was grim.
* * *
"How is this possible?" Firth Quel, Edden Charkisul's Chief of Sciences, asked.
"If we hadn't gone back to reexamine these samples, we wouldn't have found it," Firth's assistant sighed. "While it appeared to be nuclear waste at first, we dug deeper and found the organism."
"And you're saying the organism produces waste more toxic than nuclear waste? That's impossible," Firth shook his head in disbelief. "Kondar only flirted with nuclear power until it was deemed unsafe and all the experiments were shut down. We knew we didn't produce enough waste to cause this contamination, and now we find this."
"It's only a single organism," the assistant cautioned. "We'll have to search for more. This could be an aberration, as we don't have more samples to verify our findings."
"You say this one is dead? Is there any way to discover how much of the waste it might produce and how quickly?"
"It died shortly after we collected it, so I can't say for sure. I fear it may reproduce much like a virus, and who knows what it feeds upon?" Firth's assistant said. "Our only sample is dead and we have little else to go on."
* * *
"We leave for Vhrist tomorrow. Is that enough time to prepare?" Amlis asked. He, Rodrik, Wolter and Deeds had gathered in their chosen meeting place—in Finder's old sleeping quarters, which Deeds has claimed for his own. "I hope you don't mind that I've chosen you as my personal servant. It's what Father would allow."
"I feel safer with you," Wolter sighed. "I don't trust many, here. At least I can prepare meals for you and your personal guard."
"That will be much appreciated," Amlis replied. "How are the blade lessons coming along?"
"He's doing well—for a cook," Deeds grinned.
* * *
Berel studied the time-lapse vids carefully, noting every movement outside Avii castle. He'd studied the inside bowl initially, but no activity could be seen there, other than Avii flying back and forth while animals grazed and groves and fields were tended.
He'd turned to the perimeter of the castle, then, watching the thin strips of sand surrounding it. There'd been no word or records of Quin until recent months, but there had been two instances when the Avii had requested assistance from Kondari physicians.
If Quin could heal his sickness, she could heal anything. He'd also learned, from listening in on Melis Norwal and his father's conversations, that Quin had no DNA connection to the Avii. That meant she'd come from somewhere else, and it wasn't difficult to see that she hadn't flown there—her wings were barely forming when she arrived in Kondar's capital the first time.
He'd set his comp to the designated time periods, when he imagined Quin had arrived at Avii castle, then asked it to account for any anomalies in activity there.
Berel had chosen a late hour, when his father and servants thought him asleep, to test his theories. He was ready to give up, however—two hours had passed with nothing of note occurring. Then his small comp beeped; it had found something. Berel stared at the images, his mouth open in surprise.
* * *
Halthea sneered at the two Yellow Wings who'd been her servants. They desired to treat her as less then they? She'd show them. She'd show that foolish half-blood, too, but it required careful planning. Perhaps she'd fly to Kondar afterward, and convince them to take her in. They were fascinated by the Avii, and would leap at the chance to accept her.
For now, she'd pull sheets from beds and make them up if she were forced. If Jurris thought to give her clothes and jewelry away to Wimla and Vorina, she'd show them, too.
* * *
I didn't mind cleaning Justis' quarters, and he seldom asked me to run errands for him. In the afternoons, I studied with Master Ordin, had dinner with Dena and talked, or, if Gurnil sat with us, we'd discuss books. Dena turned to reading at night, just to keep up with us.
She also kept her promise to work with me, and my wings grew longer and stronger every day. After four weeks of cleaning Justis' quarters, all my feathers were grown and Ordin said my wings were almost long enough to attempt flight.
"You're not as heavy as some of the others, so it will be little more than a tall child's weight to carry. Suitable enough to get you started," he smiled at me. "Dena is doing a fine job of strengthening them."
"Dena is a wonderful friend," I said.
"You haven't had that, have you? A friend the same age?"
"No, Master Ordin." I didn't say that I was coming to think of Berel as the same—a friend. He and I chatted now and then through the tab-vid, and he always smiled at me when we talked.
"I'm quite pleased with your paper," he tapped a finger on the sheaf of paper on his desk. "I read it, and am amazed at the translation you did from the Kondari language. I could only get through parts of it, and relied much on their illustrations and photographs. I now have full knowledge of wet-lung disease. Gurnil is in the process of setting it for print, and it will become a book in his Library."
"I enjoyed doing it," I said. "I look forward to the next one."
"I've never seen anyone this thirsty for information," Ordin chuckled. "I'll assign a paper on the liver next week."
"I'll begin my preparations tonight, then," I said.
"I saw Halthea this morning, dumping an armful of sheets into a bin at the laundry," Ordin said, changing the subject. "I don't believe any of us are safe while she's running loose through the castle. I thought Jurris would keep her confined to his quarters, but he sent her away. Likely tired of her whining," Ordin grimaced.
"Ordin, we have to watch our backs, then," I said with a nod. "I'm used to this sort of intrigue, and saw too many nobles dead from knife wounds. I hope there's a way to keep weapons away from her."
"Jurris doesn't think she's a threat. He believes her to be like all other Yellow Wings, now—something benign and beneath notice—except for her haranguing."
I wanted to call Jurris a fool, but held back. Perhaps this was akin to what Wolter and I thought of Irdith; we both knew she was dangerous, but both held our tongues lest the danger visit us. Ordin thought Jurris a fool, just as I did, but it would benefit neither of us if we voiced our opinions aloud.
"May I go, now?" I said. "I want to pull a few weeds growing on Justis' terrace before dinner."
"You may go. I don't believe Justis has ever had anyone take care of him so well."
"Then he's never had a proper servant," I said. "In Fyris, I'd be beaten fo
r not doing a proper job."
* * *
The small basket I'd borrowed from Ordin was filled with young weeds thinking to sprout in the spring weather. The grass was barely showing green on Justis' terrace, and the weeds would only claim moisture and root space if they weren't pulled.
"Taking care of my lawn as well?" Justis had flown in moments earlier and landed nearby, watching me work for a few moments before saying anything.
"It needed to be done." I was on my knees, pulling the last of the weeds when he spoke, so I leaned back and gazed up at him, blinking in the late afternoon light.
"Your knees are dirty, young Quin. Run to your suite, take a bath and I will join you and Gurnil at dinner tonight."
"Is it all right if Dena is there?"
"Of course." A small smile lifted a corner of his mouth, while dark eyes glittered from the sun's setting far to the west. I noticed that the breeze played with his feathers and his hair, ruffling both gently and making him appear younger than he was.
"I'll go now," I said, rising and stretching my back to get the kinks out.
"Good. Tell Gurnil I'll meet you in the Guild Masters' dining hall in an hour."
"I will." I hurried away before Justis could change his mind. Dena would be overjoyed that Commander Justis had chosen to have dinner with us.
* * *
"This came for you," Justis handed an envelope to Master Gurnil as he took a seat at our table.
"Thank you," Gurnil nodded at Justis. "Would you like to join me in my study for an after-dinner drink?"
"I'll join you as well," Ordin said, taking the last chair at our table. Dena's eyes widened when Ordin took the chair next to hers, while Justis chose the one across from her.
An after-dinner meeting meant the information contained in the envelope was important and of interest to all three. Holding back from using my talent in an attempt to solve the mystery of the envelope, I turned my attention to dinner. "Dena and I can get your plates," I said, scooting my chair back.
"Ask for extra meat and gravy for me," Justis said. "I've been drilling the Black Wings, today."
Finder: First Ordinance, Book One Page 21
