Hail to the Queen (Sage Trilogy, Book 3) (4 page)

It was the smarter move.

Sure, they might be able to get more rest and information looking for James’ mother, but it was a risky move. If she had left James’ father for her Kingdom, why would she help them? And what if it just ended up being a trap? They would be at the mercy of their sworn enemies. And besides, Dominic and Kyran had gone through the forest.

She picked up the speed as the incline grew steeper,
happy to see that there weren’t waves of Quietus waiting for her.  Once she jumped over the hump at the top and reached the throne, she stopped and put out a hand in front of her to attack.

So…there was one Quietus after all…

But it was just her…if it was a her. The only real indication was the softer face. Other than that, she looked very much like an ordinary Quietus. The same pitch-black rippling skin. The slicked back hair. The scythes protruding from her forearms. Her chiseled frame…

Catherine ceased he
r examination and got ready to defend herself when the Quietus smiled and pointed towards James.

“And where…are you going with my son?” she asked, her voice calm and soothing. Catherine’s eyes widened as she glanced momentarily at the body slung over her shoulder.

Was this a trick?

“Get out of my way before I’m forced to use my power. I have no quarrel wi
th you,” Catherine said firmly. The Quietus didn’t budge. Its smile was beginning to make her nervous.

“You have two options, Princess,” the Quietus replied. “You can come with me
now and meet your true enemy, or you can leave, and fail at the mission you and your Sages have staked your lives upon.”

Catherine sent out a pulse from the aura radiating
from her body, informing her that no one was trying to creep up from behind. As far as she could tell, there was no trap being laid.

“What enemy?” Catherine asked, remaining cautious.

“While you were in hiding, a…I dare not say a man…came through our Kingdom walls and began killing our brethren. You can only imagine how disconcerting that was for us considering recent events. We gathered arms against him, and he surrendered once he saw our numbers. But he won’t provide us any information as to who he is or his origins. He says he only wants to talk to you or James, and that you’ve been hiding in the crater all along.”

“Quietus rarely take prisoners,” Catherine said
, attempting to interpret the Quietus’ thick accent. “And considering he killed some of your people, I’m surprised he’s still breathing.”

“We’ve already tried killing him,” the Quietus’ demeanor wavered. “Our scythes and our swords cannot pierce his skin.”

Catherine felt a shudder ripple throughout her body. A man that a Quietus couldn’t wound? Who did she know that could possess such power? She had seen the might of the Langorans, witnessed firsthand the tactical mind of the Prattlians and saw friends crushed under the raw power of the Quietus. No Kingdom boasted an invincible warrior. Even the Quietus King had been killed…so who was this man? Could he be…from  Zen-echelon?

“How can I trust you?” Catherine said finally. The Quietus sighed and relaxed her stance. Immediately, her tar like skin began rippling from her fingertips and towards the center of her chest, revealing tan human skin underneath. The rippling black was sucked away from her limbs and eventually disappeared somewhere beneath her skin.
Her scythes retracted and her hair softened and fell apart into loose, fine strands of brown. The Quietus had become a woman, wearing nothing more than a loose green t-shirt and a pair of leather pants. Catherine noticed her own throat began closing up the moment she saw the color green, but she maintained her gaze, and refused to power down, despite the woman’s show of faith.

“Will this do?” the woman asked, her voice much softer and motherly. Catherine searched her eyes and her attire, seeing the similarities between her and the young man she carried on her shoulder. He didn’t have her color hair, but surely the shape of her eyes, her nose and lips. The woman smiled warmly once she realized what Catherine was doi
ng.

“Of course, while we take care of business, we’ll also have to discuss just what your relationship is with my son!”

“Don’t try to disarm me,” Catherine warned, her purple aura flickering. “For all I know, the moment I power down, I could be attacked and killed.”

“I don’t know how els
e to convince you…if it makes you feel any better, no one will make an attempt on your life unless I give the order. The villagers obey me.”

“Why should they?
Who are you?”

“
I am their leader, their voice against the King of Quietus,” she said proudly. “Sure, the King has his warriors and his followers, but they are the nobility. The commoners of Quietus never wanted him to rule our Kingdom. So they listen to me.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better at all,” Catherine replied truthfully. “If anything, it just makes you
sound more dangerous.”

“Then leave,” she replied quickly, “and let us take care of our own.”

The woman stepped to the side to let Catherine escape but the Princess contemplated the situation. Kyran would be running back to Quietus if he was successful in retrieving Zen-echelon’s stone, and James was certainly in no condition to fight. If they came against any kind of trouble on the way out, she would be forced to continuously use the Allayan stone until James regained his strength, and there was no telling how long that would take…or even if she had enough years in her life to expend so much energy. She had to make a wise decision, and quickly, while James’ mother was still acting friendly…

And what she had said earlier had
struck a nerve with her.

When she said, ‘let us take care of our own.’ There was so much bitterness and hatred simmering behind her wo
rds that she could barely contain it. The fact that they saw each other so differently, treated each other as less than themselves, it was something Catherine noticed throughout all their travels. Each Kingdom hated the others, and although they each had their reasons, most of them were fueled by vengeance and a lust for blood. No one trusted one another and it showed, even in the actions of her Sages. They saw only the mission, and cared little for what damage they caused to their neighbors.

And what kind of relationship was that? How was she going to be able to take care of her people as Queen when they were too busy fighting against a vengeful Lang
uor? Or a rebuilt Quietus? When was the violence going to end? When were they all going to unite and actually turn their attention to an enemy that had secretly declared war on them all?

And now, here she was, listening to a Quietus leader telling he
r that their collective enemy was waiting for them, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to investigate.

Because she still remembered the siege
…

Her mother’s cries that rang through the air so violently
and often that she lost her voice.

Her father’s head hung low as he realized that for all his authority, he had none under the might of another.

Her beautiful Kingdom, being ripped and torn apart as she simultaneously realized her weakness.

It didn’t matter who was the mastermind behind it all, Quietus was all she saw, and for the remaining years of her life, that’s
who plagued her nightmares and became her boogeyman. It wasn’t a vague enemy like Zen-echelon. To her they were like a lion prowling the wilderness. A predator that would only attack if provoked or if you walked onto its territory.

But the Quietus, they had made a personal mark in her life, and she had vowed, silently, fervently…that she would return the favor someday.

She had lost Achan to them.

She had lost Chloe to them.

She may have even lost Arimus and Scarlet…

And now a Quietus was asking for her trust, to follow her against all logic into their hear
th, where she would only be more vulnerable - where the mission was even at greater risk…and yet…there had to be an end. At some point there had to be a stop to the bloodshed. At some point the healing and mending had to begin, and it had to start with Allay. It would be meaningless to spout off words of love and unity after the mission was completed. After the Sages had thrust themselves into their homes and made their lives even worse. Cutting down their leaders, taking their stones – their only sources of power. Turning their buildings into ruins, scarring their children, devastating their homes.

How was she any better than they?

“I want to trust you,” Catherine said low, her aura disappearing and the symbols on her body fading away. “Based on our history, I have no reason to. But as you said, we both have a true enemy, and it’s not each other. If you would be so kind, I would like you to take me to him, and tend to James as well.”

“That is very gracious of you,” James’ mother said. “But are you sure you want to come into the Quietus village? There is only one way out. Very hard to escape if danger arises.”

“I can take care of myself,” Catherine said. “And I’ve made my decision. Now, let’s go.”

“Follow me,” she chuckled as she took two steps forwar
d, and then leapt into the air towards the crater floor. Over the horizon, the sun was beginning to fall and the various Quietus warriors that had been watching their conversation began to blend in with the darkness. Their eyes shined off the glint of the sunset and they watched the Princess of Allay curiously as she followed her enemy. Once they reached the bottom, they walked casually to the entrance of the village - a plastic looking white door with a handle in the likeness of a Quietus head. James’ mother opened the door with little effort and held it for Catherine to stroll through. The inside was nothing like the out.

From the forest to the crater arena,
the Quietus Kingdom was like one giant wilderness, simply a place where the Quietus could run and jump freely. Nothing was crowded. The village, however, was the exact opposite. The ceiling above them (which was the dome they saw earlier) was only a few feet above their head. Ahead of them were wooden huts fashioned from the trees of their forest, and they were placed together in alarming proximity. There was absolutely no privacy and the only place to walk freely was a dirt path that winded around each of the huts and throughout the village. The place was dimly lit, with lanterns hanging from the ceiling that were in need of fuel, and it gave the atmosphere a drowsy ambience, making it seem like her eyes were barely open and she was half asleep. The commoners of Quietus were living in terrible conditions, and made the village of Allay look like an oasis. Did they choose this kind of living in order to give them the space to run around on the outside? Or was this the King’s doing?

“Didn’t expect this, did you?” James’ mother chuckled as Catherine watched several Quietus scurry on all fours across the
tin rooftops. It appeared that was the fastest way to travel rather than the one way road.

“Why is everything cramped?”

“The King gave his elite the luxurious tree houses about thirty miles north of here. But us…we’re forced to live in more humble abodes, to ensure that if there’s ever a revolution, he can crush us with one fell swoop. As I’ve said, it’s very hard to escape once you’re inside.”

“I see…uh, what is your name?” Catherine asked, feeling strangely at ease. “I don’t want to refer to you as James’ mother the whole time.”

“Nadia,” she replied, before leaping effortlessly to the roof in front of them. “Come, I will take you to my home. James can rest there. I hope you don’t mind running.”

“Not at all,” Catherine smiled as she saw a Quietus nearly fall off the roof in shock over seeing the Princess of Allay in their neighborhood.

The two of them ran as they talked, allowing other Quietus to pass whenever they met head on. Catherine noticed that the common Quietus were far different than those she was accustomed to. Quietus were ruthless and always in wait of the next hunt, but these appeared to be more nervous of her presence than she was of them, and their eyes shifted anxiously to the side whenever they met hers. They were a lot smaller than the ones Chloe faced, and thinner.

“Is there a revolution?” Catherine asked suddenly, seeing one particular Quietus examining his pencil thin scythe.

“No reason for one now since the King is dead,” Nadia said. “Our focus is to rebuild and figure it out from there.”