by C.L. Mozena
Chapter 42
“Aarrgghh!” Boss yelled as he beat his fists on the small table in the dimly lit room. He let his head fall, his forehead smacking the table between his outstretched arms.
“What’s wrong, Boss?” Natalie asked, although she already knew the answer. She rubbed one of Boss’s arms, trying to comfort him, wishing that he would just forget about Prince Orion. Couldn’t he see what he had right in front of his eyes? She sighed.
“It’s Prince Orion, of course,” he snapped, pulling his arm out of her reach and glaring at her. “He’s always surrounded by so many people and guards that I can’t get close enough to touch him! I even snuck into his bedroom one night - not an easy task with all his stupid shields up - and that horrible animal of his was watching me, hissing when I got close to the prince.”
“Why didn’t you just ignore the zupzie?” Bryan asked.
“I tried!” Boss slammed his fists down again. “But the stupid thing jumped on me and wailed, digging it’s claws into my shirt and waking the prince. I had to get out of there before Prince Orion raised any kind of alarm and caught me,” he sighed angrily, “I should have gotten rid of that filthy beast while I had the chance.”
“But zupzies are so cute,” Natalie argued, trying desperately to change the subject in hopes that it would change his mood. The boss silenced her with a sneer.
“It’s your fault, you know,” Boss said.
“What’s my fault, Boss?” she asked, confused.
“If you had hung on to that miserable little fuzz ball while the prince was in the weapons shop on his first day on Lunspae, he never would have brought it home with him, and we probably would have killed him in the park. But no! That little furball had to go and bring people to help the prince when he got hurt.” Boss took a deep breath, leaned back in his chair, and folded his arms. Arguing with his followers wasn’t going to help. He had to think of something else. They had lost nearly all of their ATA members during the raid on Olhoe. Those who weren’t killed in battle were arrested and put to death. Even if they were able to rally more members - which would be extremely difficult now that the ATA was an illegal organization - the guards and warriors at the palace on Olhoe would be expecting another open attack. They’d never get close.
What he needed was a way to get close enough to Prince Orion, without anyone else there, especially that horrid animal, and without creating a disturbance or raising an alarm. They had less than two years before Prince Orion would be crowned king of Olhoe and Lunspae. Boss frowned in thought.
