“But I didn’t say when. I didn’t say where. I didn’t say why,” said Nikali. “Somebody informed Seres. Somebody here.”
The room got quiet. They eyed each other down without moving their heads.
“There is a traitor amongst us,” accused Nikali. “And I know who it is.”
Then Nikali looked straight at Henri as well. Slowly, every members’ heads turned to look at Henri. He was shaking his head in fear and confusion.
“No, no ,no,” said Henri. “I haven’t done anything. I’m with you, Nikali.”
“Are you?” Nikali asked.
“I have supported your cousin since the beginning,” said Henri. “Then you because that is what Heric would want.”
“Or are you poisoning Heric?” Nikali asked. “You haven’t been helping him. You’ve been trying to kill him. I’m who is keeping him alive. I should never have let you tamper with his condition. You have done enough damage to Heric. And now you’ve done enough damage to Eluan.”
“No,” said Henri. “I haven’t done a thing against you. I’ve only tried to help Heric. I even tried arcan like yourself. Marais tell him. Tell Nikali I’m only trying to help.”
Nikali looked over at Marais. Marais put his hands in the air. “That’s what it seemed like to me,” he said with a shrug.
Nikali turned back to Henri. He tried to pierce into his thoughts, but there was still something holding him back. Even the new levels that the Blood Beauties had given him were not enough to get Nikali back to his old self. The blankness of Henri’s thoughts infuriated Nikali.
Nikali felt unstoppable when he first drank the new elixir of Tamor Blood, but once he returned to the palace he was feeling down again.
“My enemies have one fate,” said Nikali. He grabbed Henri by the collar of his shirt. Nikali pulled Henri out of his chair. He may not have been able to get into Henri’s mind, but he could still use his arcan to carry Henri’s body like a ragdoll. That was easier than ever with his new strength.
The Royal Council stayed put as they watched Nikali drag Henri fighting for his life toward the balcony.
Nikali stopped at the railing. He let go of Henri on the floor. A small sigh of relief came from many of the members of the council.
Then Nikali began to laugh. He laughed in the face of Henri then turned to the rest of the Council. Henri stared up at Nikali. An awkward smile emerged out of the fear running through his body.
The council forced a chuckle to join in with their emperor. Nikali’s laugh grew. He pointed at Henri’s shocked and confused face. Then Nikali began to walk back into the room, leaving Henri behind on the balcony.
“I will destroy Seres. I will destroy Myrus,” said Nikali as he stood up straight and his laugh died down.
“I will eliminate any enemy of Eluan. That I vow,” said Nikali.
Then the balcony collapsed.
Henri had nothing to grab onto as he fell several stories with the rest of the balcony onto the hard marble floor of the palace courtyard. His screamed carried for several seconds before it was erased by the crashing sound of stone on stone.
The Royal Council looked up at Nikali. Nikali looked back at them.
“The gods have a way of drawing fate to their enemies,” said Nikali. “Seres will soon discover that. Myrus can hold out for only so long. I will break them.
“And once the matter of Farrah and Myrus are under wraps we can continue on with the future for Eluan. I see a lot of glorious things to come. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
Then Nikali walked out of the council room, leaving the nine remaining members to sit in somber silence at their new situation.
Chapter 43
With Seres away from Myrus that left Ellen Caning as the sole leader of the city. It was a position she took pride in despite it not really being where she wanted. Myrus was nothing but a stepping stone for grander plans. The Capitol was where the true power lied, no matter what she told herself or Seres. They could make Myrus the greatest city in Eluan, but it would not matter. The Capitol was where all eyes went.
On her own, this gave Ellen the chance to explore the city in ways she couldn’t with Seres. She adored the younger man. He was viral and confidant. Only his passion outweighed his ambition. But he was not Nikali, her former husband. Together, the two of them used to wander the streets of the Capitol arm in arm. They explored the nooks and crannies that their city had to offer. Nikali believed it helped him gain a perspective on his people. He wanted to know how they lived, and how to make it better for all of them. If his people were content then he was content.
Ellen took the former emperor’s message to heart. She wanted to know everything she could about the people she was leading. If she could understand what the people wanted then she knew what to tell them to make them content. There were a lot more false promises these days than there were back then.
Seres never wanted to transverse through the city. He was satisfied staying within the comforts of the Senate House. It was something he had earned. Ellen did not mind. As long as he was content.
Without guard, Ellen walked through the more run down areas of Myrus. The street vendors were out in full force by mid morning. Citizens walked unbothered by the damaged look of the buildings around them. They had tasks to attend to.
Ellen wore a poorly made dress that came with a matching head garment. The garment helped conceal her identity as she walked alone through the busy streets. She stopped at various shops that piqued her interest. Some offered meats. Some had trinkets and toys for children. Each vendor had their own style and they were eager to get Ellen’s attention to try to sell them one of their products.
She stopped occasionally to listen to the street musicians tell tales from across Eluan. The general mood was lower than usual. Many of the artists’ stories featured recent tales from the Capitol. They told of Nikali’s ravetroopers executing people in the city. Some stories even featured Abigail as the bad guy, and Nikali as the savior. No matter what, the stories of Charos were spreading.
As Ellen walked, a booth up ahead caught her attention. The booth was rundown. It wasn’t decorated to catch the eye of any of the walking traffic. But one thing in particular caught Ellen’s attention. Small pies were on display on the vendor’s counter. Mashed berries were popping out of the pies’ seal. They looked gooey and delicious.
“What are these?” Ellen asked, pointing at the pies in question.
The pale woman running the booth smiled. Her lips were dark red. When she began to speak her head lowered hiding her open mouth. “They are topia pies.”
Ellen’s eyes lit up. She hadn’t had topia pies in years. They were traditionally made in Prial. Every now and then they appeared elsewhere in Eluan, but losing Prial delicacies was one of the after effects of the city being destroyed.
“I didn’t know people still knew how to make them,” said Ellen.
“I found a recipe,” said the pale woman.
“I used to enjoy these on several occasions,” said Ellen. The smell of the topia pies was intoxicating.
“It must be why you still look so young and beautiful.”
Ellen blushed at the woman’s compliment. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t you know the story?” the pale woman asked. “The topia pies are said to bring about much energy and vitality. They say eating these will keep death away. Keep you young.”
“I had no idea,” said Ellen. “I just always enjoyed them.”
“Yes,” said the woman. “They are much better for you than Tamor Blood.”
Ellen’s ears perked up as she was learning more about the topia pies. “They have arcan properties.”
“I believe so,” said the woman. “There effects aren’t as harsh on the body as Tamor Blood. It’s why people do not know about it as well.”
Ellen pulled a coin out of her purse. She handed it to the pale woman. In exchange the woman grabbed one of the biggest topia pies and gave it to Ellen.
“Plea
se, try it,” said the woman. “Take a bite.”
Ellen did. She bit into the pie and instantly the taste flooded her mouth. It brought her back to her days of traveling with Nikali. She remembered all the wonderful food that Prial offered to them as gifts. Years she dined off of the delectable food from Prial. It brought her back a sense of awe that she had not had in years, suddenly realizing she had been in a slump and never noticed until now.
“It’s wonderful,” said Ellen.
“I’m glad,” said the pale woman. “Do you feel it? Do you feel the arcan?”
Ellen paused. She didn’t feel any different.
“Try lifting this cup,” said the woman as she presented a small cup from behind her counter. She placed it on the counter top for Ellen to focus on.
Ellen imagined lifting the cup. She imagined it floating in the air. She felt for control of the inanimate object.
The cup did not move.
Ellen felt disappointed. She frowned as she looked back at the woman behind the counter.
“Try again,” said the woman.
Ellen looked back at the cup. This time a feeling started to overwhelm Ellen. It was a sensation she had never felt before, almost like somebody else was controlling her body. Then the cup nudged.
It was just a bump. But it moved. Ellen made the cup move with her arcan.
Ellen looked up once again at the woman behind the counter. She could not contain her pleasure. Ellen had never used arcan before. But now it was all she could think about. Like a dam that had been broken her thoughts were flooded with ideas and motivation.
Ellen was going to want more.
“How much for all of your pies?” Ellen asked.
The Blood Beauty smiled wide. Her dark red lips spread across her face, but she made sure not to show her red teeth.
Chapter 44
“Just let me see her,” Grifith demanded. He was almost out of breath as he tried to keep pace with Abigail’s carriage. Myrus guards surrounded Seres’ prized possession as their journey back to Myrus began. With Abigail still unconscious from her battle wounds she was of no use to fight against the present danger that the Red Cast presented. The two women never left sight of the Myrus army. They were always on the horizon. Several times Seres sent out scouts to handle the situation, but every time the soldiers returned without actually meeting their enemy. The Red Cast was elusive as much as they were visible. It frustrated Seres. So, it was time to return to Myrus.
The Myrus soldiers were not harsh with Grifith, but they made no exception to letting him inside to see Abigail. He was blocked from the carriage door, and had to stay at a near jogging pace to keep up with the soldier’s marching rhythm.
Grifith’s head bobbed up and down as he tried to look inside to see if there was anybody that could help him. He had a bottle of Tamor Blood from their supplies. He wanted to give it to Abigail, but nobody would listen to him, and they no longer had anybody on the inside that was a true follower of Abigail.
“I can help her,” said Grifith. “She needs more Tamor Blood. I know what I’m talking about. Your doctors aren’t going to do anything. Please, just let me see her.”
Darden, overhearing his friend’s begging, walked over to Abigail’s carriage to try and handle the situation. He stepped up and walked in between Grifith and the two soldiers to split them apart. It wasn’t helping that Grifith was close to climbing over the soldiers to get to Abigail.
“Let me talk to them,” Darden told Grifith. “Just step away for a moment.”
Grifith huffed frustration out, but he listened to his friend. He stepped back away from the soldiers.
“Why can’t we see her?” Darden asked calmly.
“Orders are only for the medics to see her,” said one of the soldiers.
“Then why haven’t our own medics seen her?” Darden asked.
“Commander Seres said just the Myrus medics,” answered the soldier.
“Okay,” said Darden. “I understand that. But you have to help me out here. We’ve been with Farrah since the beginning. She listens to us, and the rest of these people know that.
“You’re about to have hundreds of unsettled people who want to know what is happening with their leader, their miracle. Right now you’ve got one guy ready to jump through a window to see Farrah. Imagine the whole camp.
“Generally, they come to us to help them, and talk to Farrah for them. We need to know what’s going on. They are starting to ask questions and ‘she’s still ill’ is no longer going to cut it as an answer. Please let us see Farrah. Then we can tell the others that the situation is true and we are doing our best to help her.”
The guards looked at each other. Darden made a good argument. Seres had said that only Odessa was allowed to enter the cabin, but she had retreated back to her own space with her group after their last conversation and never came back.
“I’ll bring your concerns to Commander Seres,” said the soldier. “Wait here.” Then the soldier walked off, leaving the second soldier to reposition himself directly in front of the door. Even with only one guard Darden and Grifith were not getting through.
“Thank you,” said Darden as the soldier he was speaking to was walking away faster than the group was traveling. He bowed his head in thanks to the second soldier and stepped away to join his friend. Neither of them was going to leave sight of Abigail’s carriage. They were going to wait patiently for the first soldier to return. The only answer Darden was going to except was entry into the carriage.
A couple hours strolled by. Darden and Grifith did not abandon their post by the carriage. Finally, the soldier returned and he was not alone. Francesco de Seres was with him. The Myrus Commander looked annoyed at the situation, but determined enough to get on with his day and more important duties.
Darden and Grifith stood up straight at the sight of the Myrus leader. Grifith tried to salute, but Darden put his hand down. They were not soldiers.
“I was under the impression the outlander I saw with Farrah earlier was handling the situation,” said Seres as he looked at the two scavengers.
“No, sir,” said Darden. “She aided us in protecting Farrah during the battle. Farrah trusts her and welcomes her, but we are the two running the camp more or less.”
“I see,” said Seres. He was angry at himself for playing an important card on somebody that might not have much leverage against the rest of the camp. Odessa had a presence about her that he saw in all leaders. He had just assumed she was a leader of the camp.
“May we climb in and see her?” asked Grifith. “This will help her.” He swished the Tamor Blood in the bottle.
Seres looked at the canteen. He could already smell the Tamor Blood wafting in the air. It was rampant in Myrus before its destruction, and stuck around during the reconstruction, but grew even larger of a base after the Capitol was attacked. The immigrants from the city brought their habits to Myrus including their preference for Tamor Blood.
“The doctors are helping her,” said Seres. “But you may go in and see her.”
“Thank you,” said Grifith. “Thank you!” Without finishing his words he hustled forward and nearly pushed the soldiers guarding the door out of the way. He left Darden behind to continue talking to Seres.
“Thank you, as well,” said Darden. “We only want to help. I know it sounds weird but the Tamor Blood has been helping Farrah since she started healing people. It has restorative properties.”
“It only masks the pain,” said Seres. “It won’t help.”
“Just let us try,” said Darden humbly.
Then Seres smiled. He couldn’t help it. He may have been intimidated by Odessa in the beginning and pushed her harder than he had to, but now he realized that Darden and Grifith were much different. They were the leaders of the camp, but they were followers. He could easily order them around. Already, they saw him as the commander. It would not be hard to get the rest of the followers on board.
“Go check in on Farrah,”
said Seres. “And let the others know how she is doing. We need to work together.”
“Yes,” said Darden. “Thank you.”
Then Darden excused himself and walked into the cabin to catch up with Grifith and Abigail.
Before Darden got inside the carriage he could already hear Grifith once again putting up a fight with Myrus people about helping Abigail.
“It will help her!” Grifith yelled.
“No, it won’t,” said one of the Myrus healers. “It will send her body into shock. It’ll poison her system. She’s fragile enough as it is.”
“You’re wrong,” said Grifith. “You don’t know what you are talking about.”
Darden rubbed his temples. The relief of no longer having to walk was not strong enough to put him at ease while Grifith fought to help Abigail. Nobody was going to listen. They had not seen what the followers had seen. None of them were going to understand without being witness to it.
“What’s wrong with her?” Darden asked, once again saving Grifith from jumping into a fight.
The doctor looked over at Abigail like he was trying to solve the problem in the one second that he had to answer Darden. “She’s showing symptoms of battle wounds. I’ve seen it before on the battlefield. But there are no actual wounds. She should be fine.”
“But she isn’t?” Darden asked. He looked at Abigail with sorrow. If it wasn’t for her chest rising with her breath he would have believed she was dead. He fought back tears to keep talking with the doctor.
“No,” said the doctor. “She is weak. We’ve given her some remedies but nothing seems to be taking effect yet. She’s gone through a lot of damage somehow.”
“Somehow,” said Darden. “It’s from arcan. That’s how she’s sick, and that’s how she will be healed. Let my friend here give her a drink. She needs it.”
The doctor shook his head. “I know you people like the drink. But it will not help in this situation. It’s a poison.”
“It gives us powers,” said Grifith. “It gives her powers.”
“Yes,” said the doctor. “Useless abilities that will drain her of her energy faster than doing nothing. Maybe you don’t notice the aftereffects of Tamor Blood, but several of us do. You will kill her if you give her a drink.”
Eluan Falls: A Whisper of Fate Page 20
