Keeper (First Ordinance #2)(6)

One cannot expect sudden acceptance, however, from those who'd previously despised you. I knew this was so and had I used my gift, could have seen it in the faces we passed on our way to the King's throne.

Jurris, a cup of juice at his elbow, watched as we approached. The Orb, floating above our heads, silenced more than a few in the crowd. Jurris still wasn't strong—he'd nearly died the night before.

I—and those around me—knew it, but few on the Council did. They only knew that Halthea had attacked the King and died at Justis' hand as a result. None faulted Justis; Halthea wasn't liked by any of them. I wondered whether Jurris realized that.

"I have made a decision," Jurris announced once we'd come to a stop before him. "In three days, those from Fyris must return there—they have no place with us."

Shocked, I could only stare at the King while he held up a hand to quell the immediate murmurs among the Council. "I know what the Ordinance says. That is why I will do now what should have been done eighteen turns past. I will send my brother and some of his troops with the Prince, who will wrest the throne from his murderous father. I have decreed it; thus shall it be."

Jurris' hand dropped, indicating the finality of his words.





Chapter 2

Avii Castle

Quin

"You are to go with me," Justis informed me later, as Gurnil, Ordin and I sat inside Justis' quarters, still stunned by Jurris' decisions.

"I wish to go as well, to record the events," Gurnil snapped.

"I doubt Jurris will stop you," Justis ruffled his wings in an agitated fashion. "I have no real desire to stand upon the stones where Elabeth died, but that is greatly outweighed by my intention to avenge her death."

"The poison is seeping into everything there," I said, standing abruptly and voicing my concern. "We may all perish. What does the King hope to accomplish from all this?"

"Quin, perhaps it will keep that filth who wears Tandelis' ring from leaving Fyris and revealing it to all," Gurnil offered quietly.

"Master Gurnil, perhaps that is where we err," I sighed. "Have you ever thought that Kondar or Yokaru might help us with the conundrum of the poison? Perhaps their technology can at least define it before it kills us all."

"The First Ordinance commands that we keep Fyris hidden from all others," Ordin began.

"I believe that became moot the moment Queen Elabeth died," Justis interjected. "Her saving of Fyris is also in the First Ordinance."

At that moment, I had a terrible desire to race into Jurris' quarters and seize what he kept hidden from all. I was desperate to read what was written in that book.

"You think the First Ordinance is no longer a command from Liron himself, then?" Gurnil asked.

"Nobody has seen Liron in a very long time," Justis replied. "Surely he would have come when Elabeth and Camryn fell."

"You're saying he's never coming again, is that it?"

"I am saying that," Justis said, rising from his seat and gazing out the clear glass window of his suite. I realized he gazed toward Fyris. And Liron? A god that never appeared to exact vengeance against those who cursed his name daily?

I doubted very much whether he was likely to appear again, as Justis said.

"Then I shall come. Perhaps physicians from Kondar," Ordin began.

"You forget the coup," Justis pointed out.

"The coup has been overturned."



Berel stood in Justis' doorway, accompanied by three Kondari soldiers and five black-wing guards. As he spoke in Kondari, I relayed Berel's message to the others present while I trembled with relief.

*

"I am grateful; I worried for your safety," I said as Berel consumed a dessert in Master Nina's kitchen.

"I was terrified," he said, his eyes meeting mine. Justis, Gurnil, Ordin and the guards—Avii and Kondari—sat and listened to Berel's tale of the coup while I translated. "Father is sending three ships from the fleet to guard Avii Castle," he added. "He extends his apologies for the attack."

"It availed him naught," Justis pointed out. "The castle is impervious to attack, although three outside the walls died in the assault."

"I am sorry for that—more than I can say," Berel admitted, his shoulders drooping.

"It was not your fault or your command that resulted in those deaths," Ordin said. "Do not take responsibility for another's crimes."

"I am my father's representative here," Berel said. "He will be saddened by this news, just as I am."

"I will convey your condolences," I offered. "To those closest to the ones lost."

"We must find a ship," Gurnil stood and stretched. "If we are to leave in three days." He turned to walk toward the nearest terrace; he intended to fly to the Library.

"You're leaving?" Berel blinked at me.

Justis opened his mouth to make excuses to the High President's son. I held up a hand. "Commander Justis, I have never read the Ordinance and do not feel bound by it. It is time they knew—they already know of the poison, and unless I miss my guess, they know of the wood ships that come occasionally from Fyris' shores."