by SM Blooding
I grinned as we pushed our way through the semi-crowded airship dock to the main part of the city. “I’ll introduce you to Joshua. He’s a magician when it comes to technology and I’m sure he can help you.”
“Sayyd!” A boy from the Sammas ran up to me.
“Jalal.” I grabbed his shoulder and brought him along as I pushed through the crowd. “Is something wrong?”
He twisted to look up at me. “Ino Nami has called for the first treaty meeting.”
I had expected that.
“And the queens have provided fuel.” His eyes widened. “There is much of it. It took two days to refuel. There are many who ask how we’re going to pay for it.”
I shrugged. Let them ask. I had my guesses, and I wasn’t looking forward to any of them. “Is that all?”
He nodded.
I gave him a slight push. “Make sure all our captains are at the council. We won’t, however, need their seconds.”
He scurried back into the crowds, headed for the docks.
“No seconds?” Eosif asked.
I took in a deep breath coming to a stop as the crowds bottlenecked at the bridges. I surveyed the area. The gap between platforms was that big. There was no reason to wait for a bridge. Not really. “The El’Asim Family is one of the largest, second only to Ino.” I walked to the edge and leapt, landing lightly on the other side.
Eosif followed.
“I want this council to provide a voice to all the families. I don’t want them to feel that the airmen are dominating the council and silencing their voices.”
He flattened his lips, but didn’t say anything as we headed toward the arena.
The table dominated the massive area again. Two large letharan trunks rose from its center, pulsating with veins of blue and green and yellow. I walked toward the tent at the far end.
Eosif turned in his items, and Marko Dudyk informed me I would have to provide my report. We both agreed on a time, and then we headed back out to the table and the first great meeting of the new families.
Nix stopped me on my way out.
Eosif paused, his eyebrows raised.
I waved him off and pulled Nix to the side, out of the flow of people.
“You have your fuel.”
I watched the gathering tribesmen. “Thank you. And have you decided on a payment yet?”
Her eyelashes lowered, her expression set and unhappy. “You’ve already paid.” She looked away. “It has been made evident that I have a great deal of damage to repair.”
My eyebrows rose. “You?”
She flinched and licked her lips.
I bit my lip and looked away. I hadn’t expected that.
“What are your plans with your new league?”
“League?”
She pointed with her chin to the table.
“I don’t know yet.”
A shy smile flitted across her lips as she took a step back. “You will figure it out.”
I stared at her retreating figure. Shy? What was she playing at? What was she doing? What did she want? I had no answers.
I walked to the large table and, instead of going to the El’Asim captains gathering at the head of the table nearest the dais, I went to the Novokshorovs.
They greeted me loudly, giving me a hard time, and reenacting my best moments on their ship. I laughed with them and moved on.
I didn’t know many of the families and more were still on their way. The edges of the arena filled with even more people. They climbed on top of anything that would hold them so they could get a better view, hear what was being said, see what was being done.
I shook a lot of hands, grasped a lot of arms. I learned their family names, their languages, and paid them the honor of speaking to them in their native tongue. Well, those I could. There were at least two families whose languages I did not know.
Family banners rose as we mingled, flapping in the slight breeze flowing in from the ocean.
A man whose face was oddly familiar, grasped my arm with a wide grin and dragged me to the next group of people. “Bartolo Estvande Cruz.”
He had been one of the men I’d gamed with the first night of the games.
“My family did not believe that I got drunk with the El’Asim.” He led me to his family group. They were one of the smallest here, but I hoped that soon enough that wouldn’t matter.
His family was rather stupefied and didn’t say much. Bartolo did most of the talking.
I excused myself.
He grasped my arm, and I was free to go onto the next group.
I approached groups who were not open. They appeared fearful or distant. That was fine. Generations of distrust weren’t going to dissolve in a moment just because “the most powerful Mark the world had ever seen” said we needed to find a way to make peace. I commented on their flags, and did everything I could to ensure they were comfortable in the fact they now had a voice.
It was the best I could do.
The Seven Great Family Elders gathered on the dais. They had microphones as well. It appeared as though in this meeting, they would have a voice.
I just had to make sure they didn’t get any big ideas.
I headed toward the dais, but then a loud gong filled the space. It was time to find our seats.
My captains were gathered at one “head” of the table, our flag flapping above them. I didn’t really think it was important. The table had to be oblong in order to fit everyone around it. Nothing more. Nothing less.
But there was power in the chair at the direct head. Everyone deferred it to me.
That was awkward. Had I earned this power? No. I really hadn’t.
I took the seat, trying to hide my discomfort. Oki sat on one side of me, Ryo on the other.
Mother’s voice filled the air in Adalic. “Today is a great day. Today we gather and build a new era.”
Those of us at the table glanced at one another. We didn’t voice the question, but we were all asking it. If this was a new era, why was the old one speaking?
“As the elders who have survived much, we are offering our services and our wisdom to help you build this new league. Rules will have to be laid down. A doctrine must be signed.”
I winced and sat back. I hadn’t thought of that.
“We are here to assist and guide. When we feel you are capable, then and only then will we turn the power of the governing of our cities into your hands.”
Oki ground her teeth and looked down. Apparently, she’d already had more than her fair share of conversations with Mother along those areas.
“Each of you have proven that your city is strong enough to be included on the council.”
An uproar rose at one of the bridges as people were jostled. Joshua burst through, and grinned sheepishly as he took one of the empty chairs with a wave.
“You have proven,” Mother continued, ignoring the interruption, “that your family name is worthy to be added to the lists. And as such, you have been added to the League of Cities.”
League of Cities. Hmm. That had a nice ring to it.
The lesser families nodded to one another.
A sense of relief filled me, though I knew we still had a long way to go. This was the right course.
“Your leaders have been noted.”
I felt someone’s eyes boring into me and scanned the long table. I couldn’t see everyone due to distance, or position, but I found him.
Iszac Tokarz. He sat on the other side of the Ino, his attention on me and me alone.
I met his gaze over the table.
A smile slithered onto his face as he turned to Mother.
Anger boiled within me. I had to prove his guilt. What had Joshua discovered? Anything? I couldn’t let it blow over like Marko Dudyk wanted.
“—young and rash.”
I should be paying attention to what Mother was saying.
“We are here to guide you. With that in mind, I turn it over to the El’Asim.” She gestured to me.
Oh dirt! I hadn’t had time to prepare anything. I didn’t even know what the point of this meeting was. She could have given me a little warning.
But in Mother’s mind, she probably had.
I cleared my throat. “I have many thoughts and ideas on how this league could perform, and what we could do to assist one another, but I would like to open the floor to you. Let your voices be heard. What are your concerns? What are your thoughts? What are your fears?” I sat back and waited.
No one stepped forward to speak.
Ryo folded his hands in front of him. “I fear that as soon as your queen requests you to use the league to enforce her rules, you will.”
The table exploded with noise as they looked to one another.
My heart raced. I didn’t have a good answer for this. I licked my lips. “I am not yet her knight.”
The people around the table murmured.
I took in a deep, steadying breath and continued. “It is true that she offered it to me, repeatedly, but I have not accepted. My ties to my family are too great.”
“What about your ties to your queen?”
I blinked. Iszak. “She is not my queen.”
The people around the table stilled.
I didn’t know what else to say. “I know that in order to bring the Hands to the table with this treaty—” that we hadn’t even started to discuss. “—she will demand I become her knight.” I swallowed. “I haven’t figured out how to make that work yet, but whatever I decide, the league must be protected against a single voice of control. Do we need a leader? Yes. But the league must be able to control itself. The interests of my people are not the interests of yours. Nor should they be forced upon you.”
Several people nodded, sitting back in their seats.
Ryo tipped his head with approval.
“Why do we even need the Hands to sign this treaty?” Iszak demanded. “Let us take the power of this league and smash them.”
“As they smashed us?” someone else asked. “How would that make us any better?”
“It would show them we are not a force to be reckoned with.”
“If you are so hungry for war, young Tokarz,” a captain at the far end of the table said, “then wage it, but do not bring us with you. We are here because we wish to seek peace, because we want to create a world where our children can be raised in safety.”
Joshua clenched his jaw. “Where we can live without the threat of the tyranny you’re offering.”
Iszak glared around the table, but sat back, crossing his arms along the table in front of his microphone.
“Before I agree to sign,” Bartolo said at the far end of the table, “I want assurances that the information in the Library will be shared with all those in the league, and not just the Great Families.”
Ino Nami stepped up to her microphone. “As has already been promised, the answer is yes. We are devising a system now that would ensure that no knowledge is stolen, only borrowed, so that all families or those interested may share.”
Bartolo shrugged and looked to those around him.
“What about inventions?” someone called out. “The Great Families have communications and ra-dar. How do those things get shared?”
New technology was pricy. How was everyone going to afford it?
Which reminded me. I had three cities. How was I supporting them? Magically? I rubbed my temple, my elbow supported by the arm of my chair.
“We need to figure out a way to finance the inventions,” Joshua said. “And we need a group of people who are dedicated, or at the very least, allowed the freedoms, to create new technologies. If we don’t allow ourselves this freedom, we will never discover new things.”
Right. How had the Hands done it? I winced. They’d taken whatever they wanted. We didn’t want to go down that path.
“And who owns the rights to these inventions?” someone demanded. “And where will they be located? Who’s city is large enough?”
“I recommend,” I said, interrupting that wreck of a thought, “that we have a central location, but that we have satellite locations as well. All technological discoveries will be made available to everyone in the league, but each of the cities will have to find a way to pay for their own tech.”
Grumbling surrounded the table.
“This can get pricey.”
“We’re going to have to talk to the queens to get more of their metal,” Joshua murmured into his microphone.
I grunted in agreement. “I’ll discuss terms with them. Perhaps, we can get certain agreements incorporated into the treaty.”
Iszak leaned forward, an animalistic gleam in his eye. “How can you say you are not her pet?”
“I said I would speak to them.” I met his glare with one of my own. He was infuriating. “Would you like to be the one to discuss these terms?”
He gave me a cold smile. “Perhaps I would.”
I grimaced in return. “Then be my guest. Let us know how that works out for you.”
“Children,” Mother said softly over her microphone. “We are attempting to be adults here. Remember?”
I took in a deep, calming breath and ran my tongue along my molars.
“Are there any further concerns?” Mother asked louder.
There were a few, but mostly it had to do with rights to air space, sea space, and land. However, the greatest fear seemed to be of me and my connection to the queens.
It would probably be best for the council if I were not its head. Their concerns were valid. If I truly were to accept the knighthood—I shivered at the thought— I didn’t know how I could protect the league from the Hands should something monumental arise. Knowing Nix, that something would arise almost before the ink was dry on the treaty.
We needed to choose a leader. I leaned forward. “Ino Nami, would you and the elders do us the honor of providing a tourney for leadership.”
The rest of the table quieted.
“A lot of respect has been given to me,” I said to everyone and no one. “And I believe there is a general assumption that leadership of the league should fall to me, but I think there might be someone at this table more capable than I.”
“Are you just saying that to buy our loyalty?” Iszak sneered.
Mother took in a deep breath. “We will do as you request. Are there any further concerns?”
There were several and we were there long into the day and the night. By the time we were done, we’d discovered what we wanted to concentrate on, but nothing definitive had been set. That was both frustrating and assuring. We weren’t rushing into things.
But I wanted peace now. I wanted my family to be able to fly the skies in safety.
However, I also needed to get to Iszak and make him pay for what he’d done to all those tribes who had only wanted a chance to sit on our league.
Tyranny of any kind would not be allowed.
Was I being a tyrant in return?
CHAPTER 29
TO PROVE A LEADER
The following days passed quickly. We spent most of our time in the arena, fighting each other in single-hand combat, whittling down to the final few. The elders tested our swordsmanship, leadership, and Markship.
I excelled in swordmanship and Markship, which were no surprise. But leadership? It was painfully brought to my attention that I needed to pay more attention that I had a lot to learn.
I was doing well enough in everything else to still be a contender, though just barely. A part of me wondered if I fought to be the leader because it was a good idea, or because I felt it was deserved.
I watched the last round of fighting, nerves building in my gut. I did feel I’d already earned this, which was stupid. I hadn’t. If anything, the competition had proven to me that I wasn’t the best person for the leadership position of the council. The others who had made it this far didn’t have a queen on one side and my mother on the other fighting for dominance, either. How could I lead anyone when I couldn’t even manage those two?
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Mother reached over and squeezed my hands, her eyes on the arena below us.
I returned the gesture with a wince.
Neira Vashkelran walked before the dais in her warrior garb. It was basically strips of leather, which bound her breasts and cascaded over her hips. Her Mark traced along her arms and exposed abdomen in blue swirling trails. Her long black hair was loose, her dark eyes narrowed as she glanced up at me, one ebony eyebrow raised.
I smiled. She was one of the surprises that had arisen from the arena. Her family brought true meaning to the word nomadic. They competed in all the games: air, lethara, water, and land. Their warriors were fierce but fair. They were Marked by air, fire, water, earth, and many that were in between, similar my own.
In short, I was intrigued by her.
She was far from intrigued by me. She regarded me in much the same way as I did Iszak, though I had no idea why.
The final event was almost here. As soon as these two men finished competing, the arena would be ours. And by ours, I meant the last six contestants. We were supposed to fight one another until there was only one victor. That victor would then become the leader of the council.
Why was I even competing? I wasn’t the right person for the job?
The part of me that thought I was owed this position of power refused to let me back out.
Was that Nix’s influence? Mother’s? Or was that really me?
I took in a deep breath and headed down to the preparation area. Not that I really needed to prepare. I had everything I needed. My sword hung from my belt. My Mark wasn’t going anywhere.
The two men completed their dance. One had been pretty badly knicked, but remained standing. The victor was named and they cleared out.
People scurried inside, cleaning debris out of the way and widening the fighting space. People were pushed back. Excitement ran rampant through the crowd.
Those of us competing stepped inside, each in our own area.
Neira, Eosif, Ryo, Oki, Iszak, and myself.
I glared at Iszak, visions of the air ships beaten by the raging seas flashing through my mind. In all this time, we’d discovered no evidence pointing to him. Marko Dudyk had no suspects. Rage coursed through my veins. Something had to be done.
