I suggest you scrutinize these introductions, searching for their hidden meanings. My thoughts will bring you enlightenment and wisdom. If you are confused by something I say, rest assured that I’ll eventually explain myself.
For instance, in reading the introduction to the previous chapter, you might have understood my screams to be an expression of the existential angst felt by modern teens when thrust into a world they were ill-prepared to receive – a world that has changed so drastically from the one their parents knew (thanks for nothing, Heraclitus!). Or you might have seen it as the scream of one realizing that nobody can offer him help or succor.
(Actually, I wrote that introduction to express the existential crisis I felt when an enormous spider crawled up my leg while I was typing. But you get the idea.)
We stepped into the palace. It smelled of reeds and thatch, and the wide, open windows let in a cool breeze. The rug was made of long, woven leaves, and the furniture constructed of tied bundles of reeds. Quite cozy, assuming you weren’t enraged, confused, and feeling betrayed like I was.
‘You knew,’ I said, pointing at Bastille.
‘I recognized His Majesty immediately,’ she admitted. ‘But he seemed to want to keep his identity secret. So I played along.’
‘I did too,’ Aydee said. ‘I . . . er, just didn’t do a very good job of it. Sorry.’
‘It’s all right,’ said Mallo, also known as King Talakimallo of Mokia. His wife stepped up beside him, and the guards watched the doorway into the palace.
‘But why hide from me?’ I asked.
‘And me!’ Kaz said, folding his arms, stepping up beside me.
‘It wasn’t just from you,’ the king said. ‘It was from all outsiders. You see, we sort of . . . well, tricked the knights.’ Bastille raised an eyebrow. ‘They insisted that I be protected,’ Mallo said, voice fervent.
‘They would not stop pestering me. I worried they’d kidnap me and take me from the city for my own good.’
‘The city is close to falling, Your Majesty,’ Bastille said. ‘Mokia can’t afford for the entire royal family to be taken by the Librarians. What of the rest of the kingdom? It will need leadership.’
‘There is no “rest of the kingdom,” child,’ Mallo said. ‘Mokia stands here. We’ve been beaten down by Librarian forces for decades now; if Tuki Tuki falls, it will spell the end for my people. We will become just another Librarian province, slowly assimilated into the Hushlands, our people brainwashed until we forget our past.’
The queen laid a hand on her husband’s arm. ‘We are not ignorant of the importance of preserving the royal lineage, fair sister – if only so that a proper resistance can be mounted to reclaim Mokia, should that become our fate.’
Before you ask, yes, she actually talks like that. I once asked her to pass the butter and she said, ‘It pleases me to bequeath this condiment unto you, young Alcatraz.’ Really. No kidding.
‘But wait,’ I said, scratching my head. Being stoopid, I do that a lot. ‘You’re here, but the knights think that you’re safe somewhere else?’
‘Our daughter imitated me,’ Mallo said. ‘She is an Oculator and has a pair of Disguiser’s Lenses. The knights shepherded her away to a hidden location while she used her Lenses to appear as if she were me.’
‘The lineage is safe,’ Angola said.
‘And I can stay to fight with my people, as is right.’ Mallo looked grim. ‘Rather, I can fall with my people. I’m afraid that several Smedrys and a single knight will not be enough to win this siege. Our Defender’s Glass is nearly broken, and most of my warriors have fallen to comas in battle. Those who remain have taken many wounds. My silimatic scientists think that one more day of fighting will shatter the dome. We are faced by superior numbers and superior firepower. In the moments before you arrived, I had made the difficult decision to surrender. I was on my way to the wall to announce it to the Librarians.’
The words hung in the air like a foul stench – the kind that everyone notices but doesn’t want to point out, for fear of being named the one who caused it.
Well, guess we came here for nothing, I thought. We should probably turn around and get out of here.
‘I’m here to help, Your Majesty,’ I said instead. ‘And I can bring others. If you will resist a little longer, I will not let Mokia fall.’
I’m not sure where the brave words came from. Perhaps a smarter man would have known not to say them. Even as they came out of my mouth, I was shocked by my stoopidity. Remember what I said about bravery?
Ridiculous though the proclamation was, the king did not laugh. ‘I have found that the word of a Smedry is like gold, young Alcatraz,’ King Mallo said appraisingly. ‘Of great value, but sometimes easy to bend. Are you certain you can bring aid to my people?’
No.
‘Yes,’ I said.
The king studied me, then glanced at his wife.
‘If we surrender, our people retain their lives,’ Angola said, ‘but lose their selves. If there remains but a slim chance . . .’
He nodded in agreement. ‘You said you needed to use our Communicator’s Glass, Alcatraz. Let us see what you can do with it, and then I will judge.’