Queen of Empire: A fantasy romance (The Relic Trilogy Book 1)

by HR Moore

  'Again, Bass, you seem to have misunderstood your brief,' said Austin. 'You are here to monitor the energy and report your findings to the council. You are not supposed to interpret those findings in an exaggerated manner and present them here as fact.'

  Every fiber in Bass's being was still as the words hit him, his face carefully neutral.

  'Frankly, Bass,' said Austin, with disgust, 'this is tantamount to scaremongering, and that is something that this council must take extremely seriously. We all know the effect comments like yours can have on the energy…' Austin was visibly enjoying himself, until a calm, even voice cut him off mid-sentence.

  '…we can't ignore what's right in front of us, Austin,' said Alexander, standing up and walking towards the lectern, throwing visible weight behind Bass.

  'Bass' report is consistent with information I've been getting from farmers and fishermen all over the world,' said Alexander. 'The crops are failing, fish are dying, it's only a matter of time before we start to see food shortages.

  'I'm sure everyone in this room will be fine; we have the means to secure food and protect it. Others, those we have a responsibility to protect, will not be so fortunate. We must take action now,' he said, turning pointedly to Austin, 'or we'll have a rebellion on our hands.'

  Austin screwed up his face. 'This is the problem with young Descendants,' he laughed, self-assurance seeping out of every part of him. 'They have no experience of life, have never seen situations like this before, have never witnessed situations like this blowing over, running themselves out of steam.

  'When life carries on as it always has, regardless of the Body bloodline, everything will go back to normal. The energy will stabilize and food will be in abundance once more.

  'Now, I think we've had enough of these hysterics for one day. Bass, I would advise you to think carefully about what you say in this chamber during your next update, or we may have to reconsider your position here…we did appoint you at a very young age.'

  Bass was about to explode with indignation.

  Alexander intervened, both before Bass did anything stupid, and because his own frustration was at boiling point. 'No, Austin, this conversation is not over. I am a ruling Descendant with as much of a say here as you, regardless of my age, and we must take action.

  'You cannot use the past to predict the future, especially as our world has never faced this challenge before. People think the bloodline has been cut, that there's no hope of freeing the world. That isn't something people can easily bounce back from.'

  'Luckily,' said Austin, 'we have three ruling Descendants, which comes in handy at moments like these.'

  Austin rounded Peter, who had shrunk so far back into his seat that he looked like he was trying to escape through it. 'Peter, we come to you for the deciding vote,' said Austin. 'More time for this discussion, as the young bucks suggest, or should we move on to more pressing matters?'

  Peter sat still, like a rabbit in headlights, the cogs of his mind turning. 'It seems to me,' he said, slowly, 'that we are weighing the merits of youthful energy versus experience.' Peter paused. 'In this delicate matter, experience should guide us. If we see no improvement, we can revisit the topic at a later date.'

  Peter looked deflated and Alexander knew from his energy that his words did not match his emotions. Austin's intimidation tactics had worked their magic once more. But right now, he had to get Bass out of the chamber before he said or did something stupid.

  'I have no doubt this will be a topic we revisit time and again as the energy continues to drop,' said Alexander, walking over to stand right next to Bass, 'and when it does, we can all gain first hand, front row experience of the chaos that drop will cause. Maybe in the future, if this happens again, we'll have some experience to tell us how not to deal with it. For now though, I think we've all had quite enough.'

  Alexander turned and looked Bass straight in the eye, his head giving a tiny twitch in the direction of the door. Bass nodded and he and Alexander wheeled towards the exit, striding in perfect, confident, unison, the doors opening for them as they departed.

  They walked quickly out through the Temple of the Spirit and almost ran straight into Anita and Marcus, who were walking towards the Temple of the Body.

  * * * * *

  Anita detected their energy before she saw them, a mix of rage and comradery. 'Hi,' she said tentatively, as they marched down the steps, oblivious to everything around them, consumed by their thoughts.

  They looked up together, both reacting when they saw Anita and Marcus. Anita was glad Marcus wasn't a reader and almost laughed aloud as their energy changed; their rage redirected towards Marcus. Anita knew they didn't really like him, but this was a bit much…

  Their comradery extended to Anita, who was grateful they weren't mad with her, but this served to further confuse her; what the bloody hell was going on?

  Then, to her surprise, sheepishness crept into Alexander's energy, which he quickly suppressed. Maybe a reaction to Anita's energy spike at seeing him, which she was now desperately trying to hide. Sometimes, Anita wished she was as oblivious as Marcus to all this, although, even he could tell something was wrong.

  'Is everything alright?' asked Anita, tentatively.

  'No, everything is not alright,' said Bass. 'His father,' he said, throwing an accusing look in Marcus' direction, 'is an arrogant, blind, fool who is about to sink the world into chaos via starvation, while happily ignoring his duty to do something about it.'

  Marcus and Anita looked blankly back, so Alexander stepped in. 'We've just had a council meeting and Bass gave an update on the energy. He reported the facts, which are, as you know only too well, Anita, that the energy is showing no signs of bouncing back. In fact, it keeps falling, and the consequences of that are becoming evident.

  'It's only a matter of time before the weather starts to react, and then who knows what might happen. What if the water supply dries up? What if we're ravaged by endless storms? Only the Gods know what else could be in store…

  'The council, particularly Austin, has no appetite to accept the facts, nor do anything about them. It's Austin's opinion that because the energy has always bounced back in the past, it will continue to do so in the future: pompous fool.'

  Anita reached out and squeezed Marcus' hand. She didn't like Austin, but it couldn't be easy to hear others talking about him like this. Surprisingly, Marcus' energy was stable as he took stock of what he'd heard.

  'So, what happens next?' asked Anita. 'How bad does it have to get before they finally decide to do something?'

  'Who knows,' said Bass, 'but the Descendants have the means to look after themselves for a great deal longer than the rest of the world. Maybe it will take starving people revolting in the streets before they do anything. Even if that happens, I doubt Austin would show much compassion.'

  This finally incited a reaction from Marcus. 'He's only doing what he thinks is right, based on what he and my ancestors have seen in the past,' he said, pressing on, even though they'd all rounded on him. 'Dad may be many things, but to imply that he'd intentionally hurt others for his own gain is pushing it too far. He would never do that.'

  'Really?' said Alexander. 'What makes you so sure?'

  'Because I know him; he is my father after all. I know he can be severe and difficult to deal with, but he does genuinely want what's best for the world.'

  'But you can't agree that what's best for the world is to do nothing?' said Anita. 'To take no action? To ignore the facts in front of us?'

  'What facts?' said Marcus, tentatively. 'All we have are a few observations. We've had bad crop yields before; maybe this is just another bad year. Maybe it'll pick up again next year. Who really knows?'

  This was too much for Bass. 'I thought Descendants were given a decent education, especially about the role the energy plays. It's fundamental to everything. It feeds into everything and everything feeds into it.

  'A change in the levels like we are experiencing now ar
e having an impact on the world, and that is manifesting in poor crop yields. Who knows what will be next? Otherwise, you're hypothesizing that a significant dip in the energy could have no effect on the world, something we know categorically to be false.'

  'Yes, but we don't know that the energy dip is manifesting through the crop yields and fish stocks, it could be having an impact elsewhere, on something we have yet to find. The low yields could be simply because it's been a bad year…we have had a lot of rain.'

  Anita couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'Are you serious? It's as clear as day that the two are linked. You're ignoring the evidence because you don't want to admit your father's wrong.

  'Marcus, the world is on the brink of a crisis, the likes of which we have never seen. There's nothing in the past that can help with what we're currently facing. We need to interpret what we have in front of us and act on that information. Don't you think we should be taking action?'

  Anita immediately regretted her words; she'd backed Marcus into a corner. To agree with her would be to go against his father. Marcus seemed to genuinely believe that his father would do the right thing eventually, that Austin took his duty seriously.

  'All I know is that Dad wouldn't act in a way he thought would harm the world,' said Marcus, 'which means he must know something more about what's going on than we all do. Maybe we should trust that he's been around for longer…he has more experience, can bring a different perspective.'

  Bass and Alexander had had enough. 'I've already heard this bullshit from one member of the Mind line today, and luckily, I don't have to stand here and listen to any more of it,' said Bass. 'Just wait and see what happens when we take no action; you'll look like a fool then, along with your father.'

  Bass and Alexander left Anita and Marcus, storming off in the direction of the observatory.

  Anita stood still for a second, trying to process what Marcus had just said. She turned slowly to face him. His energy was deflated, his shoulders hunched forward, his usual confident swagger momentarily deserting him. 'Did you mean that?' asked Anita. 'Or were you just saying it so as not to insult your dad?'

  Marcus' energy was uncertain. Anita felt the moment his resolve snapped into place.

  'Anita, nobody's one hundred per cent sure what's going on. We've never encountered this situation before, so we can't be sure what will happen next. I don't think the right thing to do is scaremonger about disaster and destruction; that won't help anyone.'

  'So we should do nothing?'

  'It's a delicate situation. I don't think we should do anything rash.'

  'What your father's doing is something rash. To not act at all is criminal, and you're burying your head in the sand.'

  Anita turned away and started walking towards the Body Temple.

  Marcus followed her.

  'I'll see you later, Marcus. I need some time alone,' she said, taking the steps two at a time.

  'You're going to let a council debate come between us?'

  She wheeled back to face him, a look of disbelief plastered across her face. 'You're going to let some ridiculous view held by your father come between us? Open your eyes, Marcus, it's a big scary world out there and Daddy is villain number one.'

  * * * * *

  Marcus watched her go, trying to sort through his own thoughts. Which side was he on? His mind raced, locked in an endless loop of uncertainty. He was angry, confused, hurt, embarrassed, worried, and most of all had a deep sense of foreboding that this situation was not going to blow over as he would like.

  He didn't want to lose Anita. It had surprised him how much he'd missed her when she'd gone away to Kingdom, and he'd seen her pretty much every day since then. But he couldn't take a stand against his father, who had only just started to involve him in his business affairs. Nothing he'd seen so far had made him think that Austin, or indeed any of the previous Mind Descendants, had ever done anything out of line with their duty.

  But, come to think of it, it was a little strange that nobody had ever put a single foot wrong…maybe he was being lied to…

  Everyone was terrified of Austin, but up until now, Marcus had assumed that was because he had a powerful position and an unpredictable temperament. He would never purposely hurt someone without good reason. Would he?

  * * * * *

  Anita reached the top of the stairs, agitated, angry, emotions coiling tighter and tighter inside her. How could Marcus be so stupid? She'd felt his conflicting emotions, but he'd sided with Austin when deep down he knew action needed to be taken. He'd sided with Austin when he could've quite easily sided with her, once the others had gone.

  She understood that Marcus couldn't publicly trash his father, especially in front of another Descendant, but surely he trusted her enough to tell her what he really felt? Not only had he not trusted her, but he'd let her down in front of the others. She looked like a fool for being so close to him…she needed to punch something.

  'Anita?' came a voice from behind her, Anita startled that anyone had managed to get so close without her knowing they were there. She whirled around to see Helena standing next to a pillar, a strange look on her face, almost nervous.

  'I'll do it,' said Anita, surprising them both equally. Action needed to be taken by somebody; it may as well be her.

  Helena walked forward. 'Er…what we discussed the other day?' she said, cautiously. 'You'll do it?'

  'Yes,' she said, holding her breath, wondering if she was really doing this.

  'Let's go for a run,' said Helena, in a low voice. 'We don't want to be overheard.'

  Helena led Anita to a small cottage around the corner from the temples, pulled out a key, and let them in. 'Here, I'll be back in a minute,' she said, throwing some running tights, a t-shirt, and trainers to Anita before making her way up the small spiral staircase to go and get changed.

  A few minutes later, they were running in the direction of the river, Anita relishing the vent for her frustration. She pushed the pace faster and faster, her energy lifting with every stride.

  By the time they reached the river, Anita felt good, she felt great, she felt invigorated. They paused by the water's edge, stretching and watching the lively water ripple its way down stream.

  'What made you change your mind?' asked Helena.

  'I realized the Descendants aren't going to do anything. Austin's too determined not to, but somebody has to do something. You've offered me a way to help. I would be as bad as they are if I didn't act either.'

  'What about your relationship with Marcus?'

  'If all goes well, he'll never know, and we can carry on as we are, which is in a tense fashion.' A shadow played across her features before she pushed it away. 'What exactly do you need me to do? Where will I find the information that needs to be retrieved?'

  Helena took a breath. 'We don't know. That's part of what you're going to have to do. All we know is that a memory was stolen from me. I obviously can't remember what it was, but it was something about the origins of the Institution, something that could be used to undermine us if we ever challenged Austin.

  'It was stolen a couple of decades ago and is the reason the Institution went quiet. All I know is that it's stored in a brass cylinder with red rings around each end. We only know that much because Melia, Marcus' mother, managed to get inside Austin's head, just before they separated. Unfortunately, Austin realized something was wrong before she could find out where the cylinder was stored.'

  'How am I supposed to find it? Marcus won't know anything.'

  'Ask him.'

  'Are you mad?' said Anita.

  'You might have to find a way to tap Amber or Austin for information, or maybe one of the security guards.'

  'Wonderful. Just out of interest, what do you think will happen to me if they catch me?' She said it flippantly, but the thought gnawed at her.

  'I wouldn't get caught if I were you. One thing I can guarantee is that it won't be pleasant if you do. They probably won't kill you; you mean too mu
ch to Marcus, but Amber can be most unpleasant.'

  'I'll bear that in mind. Anything else to mention before I jump into the fire?'

  'No, I think that covers it. We should cut all contact between us; I don't want anyone to get suspicious. If and when you succeed, find a way to send me a message, and then, as promised, I'll tell you everything about your parents.'

  'That's not why I'm doing this.'

  'I know. But surely you want to know?'

  'Not if you tell me something I don't want to hear…' she said, angrily. 'I've wondered my whole life about my parents…but I can't think about that until I've got the cylinder. I'm doing this to stop Austin, and help stabilize the energy. I want to hear about my parents, but not as payment. I'm doing this because I want to, not because it's part of a business transaction.'

  'Understood,' said Helena. 'I just want that cylinder back in our hands so we can focus on re-stabilizing the energy. I'd love it for you to help us do that too, if you want?'

  'Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I could end up in Austin's dungeon for the rest of my life. One step at a time.'

  'Right you are. In which case, I'll look forward to your message. Good luck,' said Helena, heading off towards Empire with nothing to soften her goodbye.

  'Thanks, I'll probably need it,' said Anita, heading in the opposite direction. She found a place to cross the river and set off for the castle; there was no time like the present.

  * * * * *

  Anita and Marcus had made up, neither one really apologizing and neither one changing their point of view; Anita thought he'd be suspicious if she had. They accepted that their opinions differed on the energy and acknowledged that this would happen from time to time. They agreed to draw a line under it and move on.

  For a few days after that, their relationship was tense, but the tension eventually wore off, their dynamic back to how it had been before. Regrettably, a silent agreement materialized between them that Anita would no longer see Alexander. She hadn't seen him, apart from bumping into him outside the temples, since they'd got back from Kingdom. She put off Spirit lessons, spending the time with Marcus instead.