by A J Gala
“Good morning,” she said.
He nodded. “Good morning, Your Grace. Thank you for seeing me.” He took his seat. “I couldn’t help but notice all the children at House Hallenar. They are usually kept hidden. Not employed.”
Allanis fidgeted with her hands. “In my experience, children of many ages are surprisingly dependable if you just give them the chance. And far less scheming than an adult. A lot of children haven’t quite perfected being untrustworthy.”
Except Bee, she reminded herself. She didn’t know where the youngest Sloat had learned to be so sneaky, but she had learned from the best, and House Hallenar’s cutlery was becoming sparser by the day.
“Seated with me today are my advisors and my Right Hand.” Allanis motioned to them but did not bother to introduce them. “Please feel that you can be open around them. We are all here to listen.”
But Allanis would not put all her cards on the table, especially not for a stranger. Ravina wore a gown of simple design but of an elegant lilac fabric with a subtle floral pattern to mask her purpose on the Council. Their guest did not need to know her true title.
“My Chamberlain reports you sent a letter requesting my presence. Other than that, all it said was your name and where you are from.” Allanis sat up as straight as she could. “I apologize, but I will need to be reminded. Who are you and where are you from?”
She didn’t need to be reminded at all. But it was a test. Ravina had told her to make sure his information matched what little was in the letter.
Peyrs breathed in deep. “Your Grace, my name is Peyrs Aldridge, and I am a pathfinder from Ebinno. Though I have traveled here to see you from Davrkton.”
Allanis pursed her lips. “Davrkton?”
“Yes, I’ve been staying at Duchess Oksana’s Marble Palace, recovering. It’s all related, I promise.” He pointed to the faded greenish bruise on his jaw. “I sustained some serious injuries while out in the woods near the beginning of the month. A concussion, broken rib—”
“Pardon me, Mister Aldridge, I know you are coming to a point, but I’m farther behind than you realize.” Allanis put on a pretty grin. “I have no idea why you are here and still very little idea of who you are. And what business do I have in Davrkton with the Duchess? I’ve never met her, and I’ve maybe spoken to her brother in Saunterton once.”
“The beginning,” Lazarus said, his face expressionless. “Whatever set you on this path, start at the very beginning.”
Peyrs swallowed hard. “You won’t like it.”
Allanis knew the others were staring at her. “I appreciate your honesty. Please continue.”
“Well…” He looked down at his hands in his lap. “… The beginning is in Vandroya. With the Hunters.”
Allanis’s body went numb. She pressed a hand to the tightness in her chest. “Oh no.”
“I was up north at the time the Hunters were looking to hire a pathfinder. They were headed to Suradia to meet someone about a product for sale. So I took the job. I took them south all the way to the Bogwood, where these people the Hunters were going to meet, they met us instead.”
“Who?” Allanis demanded.
“Rhett Hallenar and Mother Tryphaena.” The first seed had been planted. The one he’d wanted to plant as revenge against Rhett. Now he had to plant the seeds Oksana had told him to, and the truth was all it would take. “But Your Grace, there’s more to this than that. We had our instructions, our plans, and they kept changing. As soon as Rhett and the Poison Mother showed up, things started going wrong.”
Allanis could hardly breathe. She remembered the night Tizzy had come to her in her Ethereal form. Tizzy had told her what Rhett had done to them.
“Rhett stayed with us,” Peyrs continued. “He was using us to find someone, but this is the strange part! He was not the only one tagging along for that purpose. There was another. She had a mission of her own, and Rhett told her he could help her. It was Sinisia Alvax.”
Allanis went cold, and she clenched her jaw. “Who was she looking for?”
“You see, the Hunters, they’ve been looking for someone called the Protégé. That’s the other reason they were in the Bogwood. They were following a lead. But Rhett and Sinisia turned out to both be looking for another nightwalker—the same one! But it wasn’t the Protégé.”
Allanis felt miles away from her body. From everyone. “Sinisia is in on all of this. Anavelia is in on all of this.”
Peyrs looked down at his hands. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, Your Grace, but they did find who they were looking for. I came to tell you about Sinisia but also—” he dared to meet the queen’s eyes, “—but also that they were looking for one of your brothers. They were looking for Aleth Hallenar. Your Grace, I regret to inform you that both Tizena and Aleth are nightwalkers.”
When Allanis’s blue eyes locked onto his, he did not see the same shock he was expecting. It was different. She did not gasp; she only stared. Studying him. The others glanced at each other, then to Allanis, then to him.
His mouth hung open. “You already knew.”
She kept glaring, speechless.
“You knew! And you’re letting them roam the land out there, killing and—”
“We’ve been looking for them!” she yelled. “Who did you tell?”
“No one!”
“Peyrs, who did you tell? Who else knows what Tizzy and Aleth are?” She stood, and so did the others.
“There’s no one, I promise! All of the Hunters who might have seen, who could have connected the dots, they’re dead! A daemon showed up to save Tizena and Aleth from Rhett and Tryphaena. And the duchess, she doesn’t know that I know! I gave her some information, but that part I did not tell her!”
Allanis turned to Ravina, and the woman nodded.
“He’s telling the truth,” she said. “The Whisper Magic I set up hasn’t been triggered.”
Lazarus raised a hand in thought. “Wait. Peyrs, go back to the beginning. Who hired you?”
“What? Th-the Hunters, I told you.”
“Who specifically hired you?”
Peyrs blinked. “Lord-Hunter Cyrus.”
Allanis put her hands flat on the desk. “Not Mabus?”
“No, no.” He shook his head. “The King of Vandroya wasn’t involved at all. I don’t think he has the faintest idea what the Lord-Hunter is doing.”
Allanis was still like stone with her thoughts. Lazarus stood beside her, waiting for the question he knew would come.
She looked up at him. “What do I do?” she whispered. “With him?”
“Worst case scenario,” he whispered back.
She knew he was right. “Ravina, Lazarus, take Mister Aldridge to the cells. Keep him far away from the other guest. Athen, let’s go. We need to draft a letter.”
“Why am I being taken?” Peyrs asked, his voice breaking. Allanis didn’t respond and left the room with Athen. “I’ve been nothing but honest—completely honest! I wanted to help you!”
“Safety precautions, Mister Aldridge.” Ravina grabbed him by the elbow and guided him up from his seat. “To some, you’re the most valuable man on Mirivin right now, and to others, you pose the greatest threat. This is the best way to keep you safe while we decide if we have more questions.”
Peyrs did not feel safe as they led him away.
“A letter, duchess.”
A woman in white approached Oksana on her dais with a sealed note. It bore Orin’s gray wax seal with a fish imprint—the Undomien family seal. Oksana took it with a yawn and retreated to her study.
Oksana’s study was one of the larger, more elaborate rooms in the Marble Palace. It stored unique books and magical texts and rare artifacts. There was even a workstation for her hired dragonkind alchemist when he was present for her projects. Many dangerous things had been created in her study.
But she was alone there, at her own workstation, working at the seal with a knife. She was not expecting word from Orin. He was the ki
nd of person who had no news for anyone unless they engaged him first.
“Let me guess,” she mumbled, “everything is falling apart for you, and you’re coming back home.” The paper was smooth in her hands as she unfolded it. “Did you say something to upset the dear queen of Saunterton? She’s finally kicking your sorry self out, isn’t she?”
She leaned against the workstation as she read, her smugness quickly melting away to something colder that lingered in her gut. Dread.
“Dearest sister, I am writing to announce a monumental, beautiful occasion,” she read in a mumble. “No, no, Orin, you idiot! What is this?” She saw the horrible line in his perfect handwriting. “You’re getting married? You fool!”
He’d done it. Somehow he had really done it. Oksana slammed the letter down on the workstation and sighed. She’d never expected him to actually woo a queen. The only reason she had even let him try was to get him out of her hair so she could come up with a real plan to free them of their dual fealties.
And she had come up with a real plan. A wedding was not going to get in her way.
The clouds painted rich colors across the sky as the sun set over Suradia. The lantern lighters came out to line the main streets with a glow. Ravina kept a brisk pace down the sidewalk and dodged the lighters’ ladders.
The streets were bursting with bountiful autumn energy. There was one last harvest coming, one last harvest before the land and its fields would go dormant. The storms had ceased, and on every corner, people were peddling crops and foraged goods that had survived. They would do so until the last shred of light died into the night.
Ravina did not have time to look at the mushrooms and chestnuts and other treasures. She weaved through the people on a mission. She’d spotted Sinisia’s familiar overconfident gait several blocks back, and the game of cat and mouse had begun.
By now, Ravina knew the elf must have realized she was being followed. She was only stampeding through the streets like a bull seeing red—anyone could’ve surmised that she was after someone. But Ravina no longer saw the signature stride or the cloak that had billowed out behind her target. She was gone. Ravina continued on for a few more blocks, then ducked down an alley to catch her breath.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the meeting with Peyrs Aldridge. The man had been terrified of being caged up, especially when he found out Rhett was there with him. Ashbel had told the Council that Sinisia was after Aleth shortly after she’d been hired on. So she’d known it before going into the meeting, yet she was still surprised to hear that it had really happened.
They really had teamed up. They had both gotten so close to their goals.
But then what happened? That part was still unclear. Peyrs’s account ended after he had been knocked unconscious, and Rhett wasn’t answering any more questions.
Ravina had only been down the alley for a minute when a figure emerged behind her with a knife.
“There you are.” Ravina grabbed the slender arm she had been expecting, and with a twist of her wrist and a little momentum, she tossed Sinisia to the ground. “I knew you’d fall for it.”
“Ravina Songo.” Sinisia grunted and rolled to her feet. “Look at you, rising through the ranks. I knew it was only a matter of time before I’d have to deal with Allanis’s Dusk.”
“Then you know I have questions.”
“Everyone has questions. You’re not special.”
Ravina began to circle her. “Are you saying you won’t cooperate?”
“I’m inclined not to, but ask your questions first.” She readied her knife. “If you’re just asking for wine recommendations, this could go smoothly.”
She had always known Sinisia to be smart-mouthed and hot-headed. Within the guild they had never interacted much. The elf had her own projects and operations and rarely had they called for Ravina’s intel or abilities. But Ravina had always watched her like a hawk, at first to learn and then out of spite.
“You’re in Suradia. I wonder what for. Are you looking for Rhett Hallenar?”
Sinisia lunged with the knife poised for Ravina’s stomach. “Fuck the Hallenars! They’ve done nothing but cause me trouble.”
The elf was quick, but Ravina overpowered her and sent an elbow to her solar plexus.
“More than one Hallenar, hm?”
Sinisia coughed. “Spit it out, Songo. What do you know?”
“I already know that you were charged with bringing Aleth to your queen. And to do it, you thought you’d use Rhett.”
Sinisia rubbed at the sore spot where she’d been hit. “Sounds like you already know everything, so what are you trying to get out of me?”
“Tell me what Anavelia wants with Aleth, and tell me what happened with Rhett! Clearly something went wrong, but he isn’t talking about it. All we know is that you all had Tizena and Aleth in your custody. And then you didn’t.” Peyrs had mentioned some grand tale of a daemon, but Ravina wasn’t ready to believe it.
“Yeah, something went wrong!” Sinisia shouted. “Rhett’s an asshole, that’s what happened!” She shook her head and leaned against one of the buildings in the alley. “So, he came back to House Hallenar?”
“Yes. The queen had him arrested.”
Sinisia caught a chill. “Will she have him killed?”
Ravina shrugged. “Why do you care?”
“I don’t! It’s good she locked him up. He can’t be trusted. He told me he could find Aleth for me, then goes and tries to murder him with poison!”
“What does Anavelia want?”
“Oh, go to hell!” She threw her arms out and walked out to the edge of the alley, watching the people on the streets stride past. “Even if she told me, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“I know you’re lying.” Ravina folded her arms. “I’d hate to use the Whisper Magic on such an esteemed Master of Dusk.”
Sinisia scoffed with an ugly grunt. “Try it if you dare, but I’m not lying.”
“Then there’s something you aren’t telling me that you want to say. What the hell is going on with you? You’re known for being blunt and not giving a shit except to get your task done. But something changed. This isn’t like you.”
“You don’t even know me.” But nothing mattered anyway, she thought. Everyone’s plans would come falling apart at the seams in due time. “It isn’t Anavelia who even gives a shit anymore, so tell your queen she can calm down.”
Ravina was not at ease with the information. “You’re afraid.”
“Quit analyzing me!” Sinisia felt like she was shaking, but her hands were steady as ever. She knew Ravina’s eyes were boring a hole right through her, searching for the truth. And the more she thought about it all, the harder it was to contain.
“Sinisia.” Ravina lowered her voice and took a step closer. “Why aren’t you in Saunterton?”
“Fuck Suradia. Fuck Saunterton too.” She begged herself not to say another word and bit her lip. But more words came out anyway. “I’m not going back. Orin used me, and he’s using Anavelia too.”
“Orin? Duke Orin from Davrkton?”
Sinisia clenched her fists. She’d sent a letter to Vandroya after her last meeting with Rhett. A response had recently come back, confirming that her father was dead. He’d been dead for a long time. Orin had lied to her.
“It’s like I said. Anavelia isn’t even the one who gives a shit anymore.”
“Sinisia… are you saying you’re going rogue?”
The elf swallowed hard and considered the words. “I suppose I am.”
“You know what the guild does to Dusks who go rogue!” Ravina hissed. “You can’t! Just go back to Saunterton! Pretend everything is fine! You know how often the guild is telling us that. So listen! Listen, or they’re going to come after you!”
Sinisia looked her over one last time, shaking her head. She had seen glimpses of Ravina in the guild over the years. Unimportant, unremarkable, but unrelenting.
“I’m done here. Good luck, Songo.” She headed f
or the streets. “If I were you, I’d get my daughter the hell outta Suradia.”
Rhett had seen the others walk Peyrs in, but they’d kept the other man far away from him. Smart move, he thought. He would have spent every waking minute taunting the hideous man if they had been close enough to talk. But the night in the cells rolled on, silent and dark like the abyss.
Rhett was alone. He felt the weight of it now more than before. Sometimes he entertained a thought—what if one of his siblings had sided with him? What if he didn’t always have to turn to radicalized strangers to help him do what he knew was right? But they would rather tell him he was wrong till they were blue in the face.
He laid back on the thin bedroll in his cell, feeling the hard ground at his shoulder blades and the bits of hay scratching his neck. He wanted to go home but didn’t know where that was anymore. He closed his eyes and tried for sleep.
The peaceful sinking came to him, and he was cradled by restful slumber in a matter of minutes. Soothing darkness, relaxed muscles, a mind wiped clear of the recent disasters.
But still alone.
The nothingness surrounding him crackled and hissed. The noises were faint, like they were far away. He knew them. They were the same sounds that came from ripping open a fissure to the Hell Planes.
“Are you trying to tell me that’s home?” he scoffed. “Even my own mind is telling me to go to Hell.”
But he did not see the kaleidoscopic red energy that he knew so well. Instead, a cold, white fog covered the nothingness at his feet. He walked through it, and shapes of people would form wherever the fog was disturbed. His brothers and sisters. He suppressed a grumble and kept walking, hoping for the dream to finally take off in a random direction, fully immersing him.
The ground beneath him changed. His footsteps landed on something firm. He turned his gaze down and saw his reflection. He was walking on a mirror. A bizarre turn, he thought.
The mirror itself was dirty. He could see water spots and fingerprints on it as he walked. The ornate bronze edging of the mirror surrounded him like he was just a tiny bug on its surface. He recognized the mirror at once.
