Force: Book Two of the Zoya Chronicles

by Kate Sander

  Justice moved his tall frame through the castle and down to the market, at least what used to be the market. When King Sebastian returned with the crown from the war towing a line of tired and defeated Sun Gods, the people of the market had been hesitantly optimistic. The rule under the Sol lineage hadn’t been bad. It had been neutral. But Sol XVIII and the Queen had wanted peace. That was a concept the city of Solias hadn’t liked.

  And they had all paid for it. The market looked like the slums. No one had money, so no one spent any. Those from Carabesh had returned to their country. The others hadn’t been so lucky. Now they lived in poverty. There was no line between the market and the slums, it was all slums outside the castle wall.

  Justice picked his way through the decrepit shops. He didn’t even pause at the place where he grew up, he walked right by. He was from Carabesh. He moved to Solias with his father when he was twelve to start their spice trade business. They had made a good life together. He had risen in the marketplace as the authority on disputes. This came to the attention of Sol XVIII and he was promoted to Head of Justice for the entire city of Solias.

  Thinking of Sol made his stomach lurch. He knew he had been key in the downfall of the long-living monarch. In his defense he hadn’t known that was Armend’s plan. Justice just thought the Melanthios were dangerous and had been horrified to learn the Queen had been working with the enemy. He had just wanted safety.

  He told himself that, over and over, as he picked his way through the crumbling city. He knew it was a lie. He had wanted power. And he had lost his love, Intelligence, in that quest. He had caused countless deaths. He vowed to never make the same mistake. His late father would have been very disappointed. Hell, Justice was disappointed.

  He strolled past beggars and made his way to his meeting. The brothel had also fallen on hard times. Mud, the owner, had to drop prices. That, coupled with the overwhelming number of people willing to sell their bodies for a meal had led to a difference in supply and demand. There were too many hookers and not enough buyers. Mud now only kept four women and one man who he considered the best of the best. Justice walked through the door. The fireplace was burning brightly. There were no buyers in the brothel and all five of the workers sat in the main entrance reading books.

  “They beat you here,” one of the women said, eyes never leaving the page. “They are upstairs.” Justice nodded and, saying nothing, made his way up the stairs to their habitual room. The woman wasn’t lying. Goods, Housing and Mud were all waiting tensely in the small room, furnished only with a bed and a chair.

  “Taking your sweet time,” Goods said tersely. He was standing by the window, staring intently outside for anyone who would have followed them.

  “Took the long way,” Justice said. He looked around the confined room. Mud was a smooth-talking middle-aged man from Carabesh. His dark skin was highlighted by the bright green suit he wore. He was a long-standing member of Solias and had been notorious for staying out of politics. That is, of course, until his business suffered. He was sitting in the chair smoking a pipe, looking as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

  Housing was sitting on the bed and Justice sat down heavily beside her.

  “That was really fucking stupid you know that?” Goods said.

  “What was?” Justice asked innocently.

  “Making him mad.”

  Justice rose, subdued anger boiling over, “I helped a servant girl to her feet after a madman struck her. If that’s all it takes to make that asshole mad then I do not care!” his hands were in fists beside him. He was shaking he was so angry.

  “It’s ok,” Housing said. She rose fast and placed herself between the two men. “We’re all on edge.”

  “We have been planning this attack on the King for almost two years,” Goods said. He pointed angrily at Justice, “And he can’t just suck it up for two more weeks. Two weeks. That’s one more council meeting. You just blew it! Everything we’ve been planning!”

  “I don’t think it’s quite as dire as that,” Housing said. “We can still go forward as planned.”

  “Were neither of you listening?” Justice asked. “Use your brains. He knows something is happening. He said he has reinforcements coming within the week! He knows there is a revolution.”

  Goods shook his head in denial, “No, that can’t be what he meant. We’ve covered our tracks. He’d have no idea.”

  “Even if he doesn’t know,” Justice replied, “what could he have meant by reinforcements?”

  The question defused the anger in the room.

  “He could be lying,” Mud said, disinterested. He was puffing on his pipe, watching the show.

  “I don’t know if we can take that chance,” Housing said.

  “Mud could be right, you know,” Goods said, almost desperately. “He could be lying.”

  “Do you really want to take that chance?” Justice asked. “I understand your desperation for it to be a lie, but can you imagine the mad King with reinforcements? A new army?”

  “It has to be a lie,” Goods said with a sigh. “It has to be.”

  “I don’t think it is,” Housing said. “He came up with it unsolicited. He just told us about help. I don’t think he’d do that unless it was fresh on his mind.”

  “We have to move the attack up,” Justice said suddenly. “Regardless if he’s lying or not.”

  The room stared at him, shocked.

  “There’s no possible way,” Goods said.

  “We send a letter to our contact and tell him that we are moving it up. He is supposed to be in the outer parts of the forest by now,” Justice said. It was the only thing that made sense to him.

  “The whole point of having the attack November seventh is that it is Sol’s birthday,” Housing said, she was looking at Justice with disbelief. “He turns eighteen. Our contact promised that he’d be present–”

  “We have had no confirmation that Sol has even been found,” Justice said, not letting her finish. “He is the true King. If Armend was smart when he made a play for the throne he would have eliminated him and hidden the body.”

  The room went uncomfortably silent. No one knew that Justice had helped Armend obtain the throne of Solias, but Justice had the feeling that they had all guessed. He ignored it and pushed on, “We have to go through with it. In five days.”

  Goods looked shocked. Housing gasped. Mud laughed quietly, adding more tobacco to his pipe, “A week. We can push it up to a week from now. Not five days.”

  “It has to be five. It has to be well before anyone gets here. It’s the only way.”

  “What if our contact can’t get here?”

  “Then I do it,” Justice said with resolve. “If the revolution can’t get here in time, then I sneak in to his room and do it myself.”

  “We’d have to hang you,” Housing said quietly. “Treason is treason, even if the true King is placed on the throne due to the act.”

  Justice nodded, “But then it’s done. And the council runs the city until we find Sol or Titus.”

  The others nodded. Mud rose, “I’ll send the letter. It’s going to be close. They will be tired when they get here. But I agree, it’s the only way.” Mud looked out the window and his eyes went big. “Shit! They found us!”

  Justice and Goods ran out of the room without looking back. Mud let out a sharp whistle and followed. Justice ran to his assigned room and disrobed quickly. He could hear Goods run into the room next to him. There were light feet running up the stairs. Justice hoped they had reacted in time. He hadn’t looked out the window, but there would be no reason for Mud to lie.

  He heard Mud say downstairs, “Hello, fine gentlemen. What can I help you with this lovely afternoon?”

  A prostitute, young, blonde and beautiful slipped into his room. She disrobed quickly and walked towards him.

  He was in love with a dead woman. But he was still a man. He felt himself go hard as she rubbed him and blew softly in his ear.

 
; “Well, I might as well die happy,” he mumbled into her ear. He grabbed her by the waist and they toppled into the bed. She let out a cute giggle and Justice lost himself in her. He touched her and she moaned. They heard men coming up the stairs and she straddled him quickly. He went blind as she guided him into her.

  He barely heard a soldier open the door. His woman let out a small, fake scream.

  “Sorry sir,” the Sun God sputtered, backing out quickly. “Our mistake!”

  Justice smiled at her, “Good job,” he whispered in her ear.

  She smiled back, “This job makes me a good actor.”

  “I take that as a challenge,” he said and he deftly shifted their positions.

  She let out a small scream as his hands got busy. Justice smiled to himself because he knew that this scream was real.

  14

  Head Of Justice

  October 24, 210, 19:17

  Location: Solias, Langundo.

  Justice steeled himself and walked through the dining room door. He had been followed all the way from the brothel. The Sun Gods weren’t as sneaky as they thought they were. Justice knew that they wouldn’t be able to meet or communicate again. The attack would go in five days, whether they liked it or not. It was too risky for them to speak outside the council room ever again.

  He opened the door to the chaos that was now the castle. King Sebastian had always had an affinity towards bare-knuckle boxing. So, when he named himself King, the dining room had been changed into a bare-knuckle boxing ring. There was a match going on right now and a hundred men surrounded a large ring. Money was being passed around and men were shouting with bets flying back and forth. The King was sitting draped across his chair beside the ring. The men inside the ring were bloody and looked tired.

  The King saw him enter the room and waved a hand slightly. A Sun God, armour painted black to show he was one of the King’s personal guards, leaned over the King’s shoulder. The King whispered something to the Sun God and he nodded, looking at Justice. Justice stopped his immediate reaction to wave. He must tread softly to get out of this meeting alive. The Sun God walked towards Justice at the door. The crowd of gamblers parted ways, letting him through. Justice realized that this was all an elaborate show, even if the King didn’t know it. The crowd had one eye on the King the whole time and were acting how they thought he wanted them to act.

  Justice waited for his escort and had a very uneasy feeling. This entire room was on edge. Reflective of the current vibe in all of Solias. The Sun God made his way to his side. Justice noticed another Sun God bring a chair, noticeably lower than the King’s. Justice smiled to himself. The Sun God beside him leaned over and said, “The King is expecting you.”

  “I can see that,” Justice said. He strode across the room towards the King, leaving the Sun God to follow. The crowd parted ways as he passed through. The men wouldn’t meet his gaze. Justice held his head high and ignored them. The fight continued in the middle of the ring. The men seemed evenly matched and blood was starting to spurt after every hit.

  Justice reached the King. The King didn’t rise or even look at him, his eyes were glued to the fight. He held out a hand and Justice, burying his pride and disgust, leaned over and kissed his ring. Justice then sat on the small chair beside the King. He was over six feet tall, the King much shorter than him, but in this chair he had to look up to see his face. Justice understood the message loud and clear.

  “You sent for me, my lord?” Justice said tensely.

  “Funny thing,” the King said, eyes never leaving the fight, “you, Housing and Goods were all fucking at the brothel at the same time this afternoon. Seems like quite the coincidence.”

  Justice feigned mild surprise, “Not really all that surprising,” he said. “Council meetings have been… increasingly stressful over the past year.”

  “So you didn’t know that Goods and Housing were there as well?”

  Justice smiled, remembering the girl, “I was busy,” was all he said.

  The King finally turned towards him.

  “I’m on to you,” he said. “I’m watching you.”

  “There’s nothing to watch,” Justice said, shrugging. “I had no idea at all that Goods and Housing were both at Mud’s place at all. I went straight there after the council meeting, as I do after every council meeting. I went upstairs and was busy throughout my hour. Then a Sun God burst in,” Justice smiled, “I was momentarily distracted but I pushed through.”

  The King didn’t smile. A fighter was starting to pull ahead of the other and was landing more punches.

  “Do you ever wonder,” the King said, watching the losing fighter take shots to the face, “why I keep the council around?”

  Justice was surprised by the sudden change in topic. “No. The council has been around for hundreds of years. Council positions are for life. You’d be…” Justice trailed off. He needed to tread softly here. If he was arrested and tortured he would probably crack before the invasion of Solias. He needed to stay alive until the city’s rescuers came.

  “I’d be insane to get rid of the council,” the King finished for him. “Is that what you were going to say?”

  Justice glanced down and shook his head, “No, my lord. I was just going to comment that you’d be the first in memory to eliminate the council.”

  “Not the first,” the King said, “there was no council, long ago before the Sol’s stole the crown. The King ruled as he saw fit.”

  “I see, my lord. I did not know.”

  “Well now you know,” the King said. “So, the Sol line was the only reason that there was a council. So knowing this why would I keep you around?”

  Justice shook his head, “I don’t know,” he answered honestly.

  “Well if I would have killed you all off then the people would blame me for their suffering,” he said. One of the fighters landed a massive blow to the other’s jaw and the recipient went down hard. The winner stepped back and raised his arms in victory, turning towards the King.

  “No,” King Sebastian said. The room went quiet. “Three minute break. The fight is to the death. Either one of you dies in there or both of you do.” The room was so quiet that Justice could hear the men inside breathing. The downed boxer’s friends were the first to get over their shock and ran to his side and helped him to his feet and back towards his corner. Everyone else stood still. The King looked around, seemingly confused by the silence. “Carry on.”

  The men in the room started yelling again with gusto but there was a shift in attitude in the room. It was serious. There was now a man’s life on the line.

  “I keep you alive and on council so they hate you,” the King said, gesturing around him. “They have never had a fight to the death before. You walked in, we begin to chat, I tell them to fight to the death. They now hate you instead of me. Quite simple, really.”

  Justice had never thought about it before. He hadn’t any reason to. The council had always been there. As long as there was history there had been a King or Queen and their council.

  The King looked at Justice’s confused face and laughed. Justice looked at the King’s manic eyes and instantly had the feeling that he didn’t know much of anything.

  “Why did you let me be King?”

  Justice was caught off guard again by the shift in conversation. “You said the King had passed the crown to you in his dying breaths,” he said quietly. “Tradition says that’s how it’s passed. On the battlefield. Unless there is a suitable heir. And there’s no suitable heir.”

  The King smiled, “You trusted Armend far too much.” He leaned in closely to Justice’s ear, “I stole the crown on the battlefield. Armend was slain. I picked it up and ran.”

  Justice’s hand balled at his side. The King noticed and laughed.

  “Why are you telling me this?” Justice asked, barely supressing the growing rage.

  “Maybe I get pleasure from watching you suffer,” the King said. A bell rang and the fighters went a
t it again. This time more hesitantly. Neither wanted to be a killer.

  “And there will be a new world order soon,” King Sebastian said, “this is our last opportunity to chat.”

  “That’s a mistake,” Justice said before he could stop himself. “A lot can happen in a week.”

  The King laughed, “That’s the most honest you’ve been with me this entire conversation. Now, let me be honest with you,” the King said. He leaned in again, “I killed the Queen, not your precious Intelligence. On orders from Armend, the man you helped to eliminate the Sol lineage. All this is because of you.”

  One fighter was holding the other down and pounding him in the face, over and over and over again. Justice wasn’t paying attention. He was distraught. He had hung his love because she had committed treason and killed his Queen. But Sebastian had killed the Queen. Justice was confused and starting to panic. Truth and lies blurred in his head.

  His fist was flying towards King Sebastian’s face before he knew what he was doing. King Sebastian smiled and said loudly, “Not another move!” Justice stopped his fist an inch shy of the King’s wicked smile. The King nodded towards him and Justice looked down. The King had a small dagger, glowing blue with Pulse, sitting right underneath his chin. One small touch from the dagger and Justice knew that he was dead. He breathed heavily, suddenly very afraid.

  “I was in the field, doing Armend’s dirty work for a lot of years,” the King said. Justice was unnerved by how crazy the King really was. “And I kept a little Quicksilver for myself. Are you going to settle down?”

  Justice nodded and slowly sat back into his seat.

  The King nodded and turned off the Pulse on his weapon and sheathed the dagger.

  “I own you,” the King said. “Don’t forget.”