“Honestly, I don’t think they meant to kill her. I think they were after me and my people, she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Do you think there’s still a Plutonian invader hiding amongst us? Is that possible?”
“It’s either that or a spy. I’m not sure which is worse.”
“I must go check on something. Please, make yourself comfortable. I’ll return shortly.” She stood from the desk and took the stairs in two, racing to the top.
Patrick watched as she disappeared through another hidden door and made his way to the couch. This doesn’t look all that comfortable, Patrick thought as he turned to sit on the couch. While it had been made of wood and he was expecting it to be hard and stiff, he was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. As he sat down the wood seemed to form around his shape, cradling and supporting him in all the right areas. Whatever this wood is, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes, we need some for our ships.
On the other side of the hidden door, the Queen was seeking the counsel of her younger brother. They were sitting at a small table in the corner, just large enough for two chairs to fit around.
“So you don’t think there’s an invader hiding amongst us?”
“No, I don’t. I think it would be a waste of time to question them right now. You need to focus on questioning your own people. Whoever did this, I’m positive was one of us.”
“I’ve never had reason to doubt you before young brother, and I will not start now.” She stood from her chair and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I should get going then. I pray there is a good explanation for this.”
“May the Spirit of Venus guide you.”
Queen Dionaea made her way back down the stairs where she found Patrick in the early stages of sleep. She gently shook his shoulder and he woke with a start.
“I think we should forgo the questioning of the prisoners. I believe you’re right, there’s a spy amongst my people, and the only way to root them out is by questioning everyone.”
Without another word she walked out the front door, her cloak billowing behind her. Together they began the walk back to the Great Hall where everyone would be assembled for questioning. Patrick reluctantly followed, wishing he had just a few more moments of peaceful rest on the couch
When the pair arrived in the Great Hall, Dionaea did not stop until she had made it to the front of the hall. Patrick followed a few steps behind and beckoned for Frize and Flupotia to follow when he noticed them both standing amongst the crowd. As the Queen approached the front she waved the three up to join her in front of everyone. Once they had settled in line next to her, she turned to the crowd to speak.
“There has been a murder tonight and a beautiful soul has been lost to us.” Gasps spread across the crowd as the rumors circulating were confirmed. “One of own has killed Nagi, my trusted and loyal servant for so many years.”
The crowd rustled with cries of shock and sadness. The Queen raised an open hand to silence everyone before continuing.
“You may ask; why was she killed? Why in this time of great trouble are we attacking our own? Have the Plutonians not done enough damage? Are our numbers not low enough? I have no answers to these questions. But I ask and implore that if any of you have knowledge of who this killer may be, please step forward.”
Nobody stood up or moved. The room was still as death.
“Please. If you noticed someone sneaking out, anyone missing here tonight? Are there any unexplainable gaps where someone has gone missing?”
The room remained silent and motionless.
“This is not the time for such attitudes! This matter must be resolved here and now. We must show Patrick and his soldiers, our saviors, that we are a species they can trust and fight alongside in the battles to come!”
With this, there was finally movement. One of the Queen's guards stepped down from his post and made his way to kneel before her. As he looked up to the Queen, Patrick saw tears welling up in his eyes. There was hardly time to react as he lunged forward, his spear thrust in Patrick’s direction.
◆◆◆
XI: Family Reunions
Pollenia had managed to make it back to the desert in record time, the Plutonians who had aided in his rebellion readily flying him there. They landed on the outskirts of the Kingdom and made the rest of the way on foot. Arriving at the castle, the Plutonian rebels snuck the prince in under the guise of being their prisoner. Once inside the castle, he quickly made his way to the throne room using hidden passages and secret doors that very few knew about. He heard voices as he approached the end of a hidden tunnel that exited just behind the throne. He waited until the voices died out and he heard the doors to the throne room open and close.
Slowly he pushed the metal grate before him open and crawled out. He peered over the throne and saw his brother sitting in the center of the room at the war table. He was alone now and a quick look around the room showed no others.
“My King!” Pollenia exited his hiding location to make his presence known.
“Who goes there?”
The King looked up from his work and watched as Pollenia exited the shadows. He jumped from his chair as he recognized his younger brother and his chair clattered to the floor.
“Brother!” The King pushed off the table and made his way across the room where he held his brother in a deep embrace. “How are you here! Did they finally release you?”
“They did not release me willingly, but there are a few who aided in my escape. They stand ready to help us.” He pushed off from the King. “Now is the time for us to band together and save Venus from these invaders. You must reach out to the jungle and ocean.”
“I’ll hear none of that!” The King's voice went sour quickly. “While we are struggling with this invasion, the Queen has the audacity to send her own soldiers to attack!”
“A simple misunderstanding I’m sure. You have to listen…”
“I have to do nothing but lead my people the way I see fit. These invaders, as you call them, have proved to be an ally against the jungle. And per my decree, that is what they remain.”
“Brother.”
Pollenia caught the King's eye and saw he was set in his decision. He had seen this look before and knew there was no changing his mind.
“I’m happy you are home, but please do not interfere with my reign. Your room is as you left it. Go, clean up. You smell horrid.”
Pollenia bowed his head gently and left the room. I need to do something to change his mind before it’s too late.
◆◆◆
Patrick had managed to dodge the guards attack, but not fast enough. Pain shot through his body as the spear caught his side, ripping a new wound that spread a few inches wide. Flupotia wasted no time tackling the guard and pinning him to the ground. Frize jumped into action and did his best to help restrain the guard. The Queen saw that the attacker was restrained and turned her attention to Patrick.
“Porin, go run to the medical hut.” A young Venusian woman stepped forward. “You’re looking for a small vial filled with a dark, green, and very thick liquid. It will be to the left of the red ferns hanging to dry on the wall. Hurry.”
Porin nodded in understanding and took off running. Patrick writhed on the ground in pain as Queen Dionaea did her best to apply pressure to the wound and stop the bleeding.
“Hang in there; it’s not as bad as you think it is. I promise.” She looked to the wound that was already starting to blister, the guard clearly having poisoned his weapon.
As Flupotia, Frize and a few others worked on tying up the guard, Porin returned with the requested bottle of liquid. The Queen did not miss a beat, popping the top and pouring it directly over the open wound. Pain yet again raced through Patrick’s body as the medicine worked on fighting the poison while simultaneously stitching his skin back together.
“Hold still!” the Queen shouted to Patrick as he twisted and contorted on the ground uncontrollably. “It will b
e over soon!”
And just like that, it was. Relief washed over Patrick as the applied salve finished its primary job and moved onto a secondary one. Painkillers and endorphins were released directly into his bloodstream, numbing him to any pain. Slowly standing, Patrick stumbled into the Queen's arms, the room spinning around him.
“Chelydra, please make sure he gets to the medical hut. He needs rest and fluids.”
Chelydra who had been standing there biting her nails hurried forward. She caught Patrick as he stumbled from the Queen’s arms.
“You’re cute.” Patrick flicked Chelydra on the nose and gently smiled.
Flupotia scoffed.
“Thank you.” The Queen nodded and released Chelydra. “As for you.” She turned back to the guard who had just attacked Patrick. “You have some explaining to do.”
The guard looked up at his Queen, clearly defeated. “I’m, sorry. But I had to do it…”
“You had to? Had to kill Nagi?” The Queen looked at her guard, eyebrows low and pinched.
“I never meant to hurt her. I was…”
“But you did! You killed her!” The freckles on the Queen’s face were now flashing brightly.
“I was after Patrick! If it wasn’t for him, they would all still be with me!” he shouted back at his Queen.
She took an involuntarily step backward, unable to hide the surprise on her face. Nobody had ever talked to her in such a way.
“Who would still be with you?” she proceeded in a calmer manner, well aware that things were never as simple as they seemed on the surface.
“My family. They’re all gone, and it’s his fault!”
“How can you say that? Patrick freed me, freed us? The invaders have been here far longer than he.”
“Don’t be so foolish. They knew he was coming! Do you think that little troop you took out was their only force? There are dozens of other groups out there, just waiting and biding their time.”
Flupotia was the one left reeling from the last comment. How could we have been so foolish? Of course, there are other bases out there. I hope Gin-us is alright.
“That still doesn’t explain why you killed Nagi. Or why you tried to kill Patrick just now.” She was stone-faced.
“If Patrick had left things alone,” he hung his head until his chin rested on his chest, trying to scrunch his body up as tightly as possible, “then the invaders would have finished what they came for and let us live in peace. But he didn’t, did he?” He looked back up to the Queen, his eyes red and his cheeks flushed as he held back tears. “He stole their orb, and in the process revealed their presence here. They were forced to fight us, to keep prisoners, and to survive. If he had just left the orb, none of this would have happened!”
“Killing Patrick,” she sighed, “killing anyone isn’t going to bring your family back.”
“But they’re still alive! All I had to do was kill him and they promised to bring them home to me.”
“You’ve been in contact with them?” She took steps forward, stopping inches from his face. “And you decided not to share this information why?!”
It was one of the few times in her life that the Queen would lose her temper. She placed both hands on her guard’s shoulders and shoved backward hard. The chair he was tied to tipped backward and fell to the floor. With a sickening crack, the bones of his arms broke as the chair pinned him to the ground.
“Help him up.” The Queen stepped back as her two remaining guards jumped forward to lift their former friend up.
She turned back around to face him, his face contorted in pain. “Where are they?”
“It doesn’t matter.” He pushed the words through gritted teeth. “They have so many hostages, there’s no hope now. My family and so many others will be slaughtered.”
The Queen made her way to the back of the chair where she squeezed tightly on one of his broken bones. “It’s up to me to determine what matters,” she spoke loudly, drowning out his grunts of pain. “And it matters that you tell me where the invaders are.”
“Fine! Just stop!” Tears were spilling from his face, the pain no longer bearable. “They’re not far from here. Just to the eastern edge of Ology’s Peak, there’s a hidden tunnel underground.” He paused as the Queen released his arm and a sigh of relief escaped. “There’s a small clearing, just steps from the exit of the tunnel.”
“Get him taken care of.” She nodded her head at a nearby Venusian who jumped up with two others to untie the prisoner. “Are you ready to go?” She turned to Flupotia who stood still and silent, her eyes wide and unblinking.
Flupotia wasn’t sure what to do next. The Queens sudden change in demeanor had completely taken her by surprise. She had never seen someone flip so quickly to a place of anger. Flupotia knew all too well that leaving anger such as that unchecked could only lead to further destruction. With that in mind, she knew she had to join the Queen and help rescue her people. There was little time to prepare for the journey, the Queen still hot and ready to leave immediately. It was quickly decided that the rescue party would consist of Flupotia, Frize, Dionaea, and the two remaining guards.
The Queen and her guards led Flupotia and Frize through the thickest parts of the jungle. The trees were so tightly packed and overgrown that at times Flupotia and Frize thought they had lost their guides, only to stumble upon a clearing where the Queen was waiting for them, arms crossed, pacing back and forth, and muttering under her breath.
Every time they came upon the Queen waiting, they hoped they had finally reached their destination. But each time the Queen would get up and lead them back into the jungle. This pattern continued for some time until finally, they arrived at a small clearing that overlooked a beautiful valley. There were waterfalls cascading from all sides, filling a large pool of water that surrounded a small island in the center of the valley.
There wasn’t much time to enjoy the view as Queen Dionaea found the underground tunnel and ushered everyone through. It was a treacherous path, serving the Plutonians well in making sure nobody found them. The tunnel wound down at a very steep angle, at times dropping dozens of feet straight down. Luckily, everyone made it to the other side relatively unscathed.
Emerging from the tunnel, it appeared they had made their way down from the peak into the valley they had viewed from above. It was just as beautiful up close for Flupotia and Frize, and just as terrifying for the Queen and her guards.
“We shouldn’t be here,” Dionaea whispered to those around her. “Stay quiet and close.”
Not sure where they were or why it was so taboo, Flupotia and Frize had to follow along. The Queen led them across a tree that had been felled to serve as a bridge and then a short distance into the woods. They didn’t have to go far to find the soldiers who had made camp near the water’s edge. There were literally hundreds of them milling about. There was a large fire burning in the center with one large ship at the camps far edge. This ship was unlike the rest. It was long, triangular, and painted a deep red.
“I’ve got an idea,” Flupotia spoke to those around her but kept her eyes focused on the Plutonians ahead of her. “We use their fire against them. They still have no idea we lost the morphing power.”
“I like it.” The Queen immediately jumped on Flupotia’s plan, morphing power? “I’m assuming all the prisoners are on the ship. You two,” she turned to her guards, “stay close to me. We’re freeing our people.”
The group disbanded as the Queen shot off into the trees above, her hair carrying her away at great speeds. The two guards followed as fast as they could, using the trees to stay well hidden. Flupotia and Frize watched and waited to see the three make their silent infiltration.
“Why can’t you use your powers?” Frize kept his voice at a whisper.
“What powers?” Flupotia turned to Frize.
“The trance thing.” He said matter of factly.
“Who told you about…” she stopped. “Nevermind, that doesn’t matter right now. I d
on’t know what you’ve heard about my singing but it impacts everyone differently. With so many unknowns I just can’t risk it right now.”
“Hmm,” Frize nodded, “I guess that makes sense.”
The Queen appeared then on the opposite end of the camp. She dropped from the trees and landed with grace and silence behind two soldiers standing just outside the entrance of the ship. She crept backward until she was almost hidden within the ship, then turned and picked up her pace to explore inside. The two guards showed up next, slowly making their way from bushes on the ground to the entrance. Once inside, Flupotia and Frize enacted their half of the plan.
Aliens from Arapholanx: The Burn of Magic Page 14
