Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children (12 page)

When Rehka fell silent, Nazar thought on his words. He only half-believed them himself. He was not certain how the Elves used their magic and that was the
very
reason
for
this
uprising. Knowledge.
It was time for the Draca Cats to
better
understand the world in which they lived, and time
for them
to take their rightful place in that world. First, they would need the assistance of the Kenleys, and in
order to do that, they
must
convince their
Draca bondmates.

What do we do now, Nazar?
Rehka was the one to ask, but he could feel the
same question on every mind
behind him.

He gazed again
at
the swarm of industrious Elves going about their
peculiar
tasks
and wondered at the strength of resistance they would present.
Nazar
lifted one corner of his lip. There
was only one way to find out. His destiny lay in the
land of Men somewhere
to the
west
and to
get there, he had to
first
travel
through the land of Elves.

Now is the time, Dracas! Follow close behind! If we must fight our way
past,
then that is what we will do!

The importance of the moment was not lost on Nazar. For the first time in recent history, he was leading the Draca Cats out
of seclusion and
into civilization
among the other
races.

He started forward, head held high.

The first Elves that
caught sight of the
procession
of
Draca Cats
stopped
what they were doing and stared.

Nazar let out an aggressive roar and waited for the most dominant of the Elves to challenge him. Instead, the
Elves dropped to one knee and lowered their heads in a submissive stance very well known
to him.
What is this?
he demanded of no cat in particular.

Cautiously,
Nazar continued to lead the way, wary of a surprise attack, but it never came. Instead, he watched as one by one, the Elves bowed down to him and his followers.

Nazar, look!

Nazar turned.
In the center of the path
up ahead,
stood a
stone image
of a Draca Cat.
Proud and elegant and fierce.

He had been right.

In this
very
moment, he knew
without misgiving
that his act of violence against Moombai had been justified. The
stone reproduction
proved that the
Draca Cats of Callyn-Rhe
held a place of honor among the
Massans
and this is
where they belonged, out
among
their subjects.

Nazar nodded
majestically
to the Elves he passed, accepting the due of his birthright. All was
as it
should be.

Do not
harm
the Elves! They know the truth of it. They are our
disciples! Let us now go to the land of Men.
We shall see if they also know the truth. If they do not, we
must
teach them.

* * * * *

“Careful now, you bumbling idiots!” Hendrix shouted from inside the closed palanquin. “For Netherworld’s sake, you are not carrying a pig to slaughter!”

In response, the fighters adjusted the
long wooden poles
on their shoulders and the ride smoothed out once again.
Hendrix
leaned back on the cushioned bed, brought the draught to his lips,
and
took a long pull of
the life-sustaining liquid. He
peered
outside
through the
diaphanous
curtains
at the long lines of people
waiting at the infirmaries for their daily ration of wormwood.
Many of those in
line
would be turned away empty handed.
If their name was not on a list,
there would be no draught
for them today.
And, it was not just the poor any
longer who
were
in dire need of the
elixir.
Hendrix also
noticed several
affluent
merchants in line.
It was an unavoidable fact.
As the supplies
diminished, the lists shortened, no matter how much money you had
to spend. The
system of
bribery
that
the wealthy depended on—and that
notoriously circulated
more coin
than any legitimate commerce on the island—had dried up along with the wormwood.

Most
of the
Ellvinians ignored
the convoy of fighters that carried him or, worse,
shook their fists his way.
They
blamed him for not being able to reverse the failing health of the people, but he recalled a
time not too long ago when his presence elicited loving
gazes
and shouts of adoration. Now, he was met with
openly hostile looks
as the people
on the street
glared at him through eyes bleak from wormwood deficiency and cold from hatred. They could tell by looking at him that he did not suffer their same fate. But, why should he? He was the Premier!

Very soon,
he would be their
beloved champion
once again.
First,
though,
he
needed to
inform the Seconds.
Chandal
of the Shiprunners
and Samara
of the Eyereaders
were
actively
carrying out his plans in Massa, and
Emile
of the Battlearms, of course, was at his side. That left Jarl of the Ironfingers, Balder of the
Sagehands, and Anah of the Coinholders.
The wormwood they would welcome with open arms, but what would they decide about the blood?

The
bearers came to a stop and
lowered
him
to the ground.
Hendrix
set his
empty
cup on a shelf and adjusted his
tongor.

Emile peeled back the curtain.
“We have arrived at the Consulate, Your Eminence.”

“Very well.”
Hendrix accepted
the Battlearm’s
outstretched hand,
stepped out of the
palanquin,
and hurried
up the stairs and
through the doors of the Consulate before the people
were of the
mind to start hurtling objects his way. It had happened once, and he did not wish a repeat of that
humiliating
incident.

The
fighters
at the doors
stood motionless as he passed them,
their blank
expressions giving away nothing.

Hendrix
blinked in the dim interior
of the Consulate
and
smiled inwardly when he saw
the Seconds
already waiting and seated on cushions under the domed ceiling of the
circular room. His
Adjunct
rushed forward and guided him
to his
seat,
and he lowered himself onto his pillow.
Crossing his legs, he
accepted the
Chero pipe
handed to him and
inhaled deeply of the cannabis smoke
before passing the
pipe to
Emile who
sat down on the
pillow
to
his right.
It did not escape
Hendrix’s notice that
Emile passed the pipe to Balder without imbibing.

Hendrix smiled
at
his
Seconds. “Good
afternoon. Thank you for gathering with such short notice, but I think you will agree that what I have to say could not wait until our regular session meeting.”

Balder passed the pipe to Anah and sat up straighter on his pillow. His eyes were already glassy from the cannabis. “You have us waiting with bated breath, Your Eminence.”

Anah
chuckled.

Fools.
I am surrounded by downright bloody fools.

“Before we start, Your Eminence,” Jarl began, “I must bring up a matter of importance to my caste.”

“Of course, Jarl, the floor is yours.”

“It is about the missing boy.
His distraught parents, and many
others I might add, are
still
demanding
answers.”

Hendrix leaned back on his pillow. “What
can I do to help, Jarl?”

The Ironfinger
lifted his chin and narrowed his gaze. “You can start by telling
me where he is.”

“Jarl, why
would—”

“The boy was last seen entering
your
compound, Your Eminence. I need to know what to tell his parents.”

Before Hendrix could reply, his Adjunct scurried over. “I
can explain,
Second Jarl. The boy
did come
to the compound to deliver a message, but he met an unfortunate end when he fell down three flights of stairs.
It is with the utmost regret that I must inform you that the poor boy broke his neck.” The Adjunct gave a very convincing rueful shake of his head. “Such a shame.
I should have come forward immediately but other matters have kept me quite occupied.”

Jarl eyed the Adjunct suspiciously.
“Is that so?”

Hendrix held up a hand. “Thank you, Adjunct, for your honesty in coming forward. Nevertheless, you will be punished for waiting so long to report this incident and causing anxiety to the Ironfingers.”

The Adjunct pushed his spectacles up on his nose and bowed. “Of course, Your Eminence. I deserve no less.”

“I think ten lashes
is a suitable—”

“Thirty,” Jarl interrupted.

The Adjunct swallowed.

“Thirty lashes is quite severe, Jarl,” Hendrix tried to argue.

“A boy is dead, Your Eminence. At
your
compound.”

Maybe this one is not as big of a fool as the others.

Hendrix
looked his Second in the eye
and then nodded in agreement. “Aye, thirty it is.”

The Adjunct
gave a last shaky bow and left to resume
his place in the shadows of the room.

“Do we have any other matters to discuss?” Hendrix asked
impatiently.

When the Seconds shook their heads, he
decided to get right to the point. “I have
the most remarkable news to share.
An abundant
source
of
wormwood
has been located.
Hundreds of
plants are being shipped to Ellvin as we speak.”

Balder
choked on the pipe smoke. “What?
The rumors are true?
I
have
been hearing
stories for weeks now, but I brushed
them aside as wishful thinking!”

“Aye, Balder, they are true.”

Anah, the only female in the room, reached for the pipe and took another pull. “Your Eminence,” she breathed through the exhaled smoke curling around her face. “This is
such
wonderful news.”

Hendrix shook his head at the feigned
interest. He knew
Anah and the others
cared little for their fellow
countrymen.
Born into privileged
families,
none of them had
ever had to work a day in their lives.
They did not know what it was like to go without
the draught. They were
spoiled ninnies who cared only about their next pleasure-inducing endeavor
and that weakness was exactly
what he was counting on.