Daemons in the Mist (The Marked Ones Trilogy: Book One) (25 page)

“Arius Nualla, if you continue this outburst we
will
have to remove you from the Council chambers,” Councilor Tammore sighed in aloof disinterest.

With one more look in my direction, Nualla finally stopped shouting, but her fierce expression didn’t disappear. She was beyond pissed and it was only a matter of time before she would escape their grasp. I had a feeling this was probably going to end badly.

Then Nualla’s anger hit me like a smack in the face. It surged through my body like an out of control fire. Everyone else must not have been affected because none of them even flinched.

Councilor Tammore turned his focus back on me. “Now, Mr. Connolly, shall we continue?”

I was shaking with anger so badly I could barely even nod.

“Mr. Connolly, you were made aware of our world before you were legally married to a daemon; as such, the punishment is death.”

“But I didn’t know until
after
the fact that my marriage wasn’t legal.” I was only barely keeping my grasp on the anger. It was writhing beneath my skin, threatening to chew its way out whether I liked it or not.

“That fact does not matter. The law is clear on this,” Councilor Tammore countered without looking up at me.

There is a point when any cornered creature snaps and attacks its foe, even if it knows there’s a good chance that it will get itself killed in the process. I had reached my point, and the anger writhing in my body finally boiled to the surface like acid. The councilors were hiding behind their laws. They were going to
kill
me because of a stupid technicality. It was just plain wrong, and I wasn’t going to die for their ideals.

“This is complete bureaucratic crap! Your whole culture is
built
on lies! Every day you lie to millions of people. So how are
you
any different than
me
?” I nearly screamed at the Grand Council.

Silence fell in the room. I just hoped it wasn’t the silence before they ordered my execution.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself before I continued, but it didn’t really help. My emotions didn’t really feel like my own. They felt more like someone was pouring gasoline on the fire that was already there. I forced the anger down as best I could and continued before they silenced me for good. “I’m
sorry
; I didn’t mean to cause such a mess. I know we broke your laws because I wasn’t an adult, but I didn’t know I was
breaking
them. And honestly, I don’t think someone’s life or death should depend on the difference of a month. I’m an adult now; this is my decision and my choice.”

They weren’t interrupting me or killing me where I stood, so I just continued rambling. I just hoped I wasn’t digging my own grave in the process. “I know that none of this is textbook normal, but I swear on my
life
that I am going to marry Nualla, and I am going to become a daemon—even if it kills me.”

They were silent for a long time after that before Councilor Tammore finally spoke, though he sounded rather reluctant to ask. “When were you planning to make your marriage to Arius Nualla legal?”

I was so startled by the question it took me a few seconds to process what I’d heard before I spoke. “Today if you make me, but in all honesty, we were planning on the end of June.”

“The end of June?” Councilor Tammore asked looking at me curiously.

“School will be out and no one would notice my absence.” And then I lied, which was probably a bad idea, but when you’re up against death, you tend to make rather dumb decisions on the spot. “I would be a daemon
now
, but Nualla wanted to wait until the school year was over so no one would get suspicious.”

Councilor Tammore turned his focus on Nualla who was still being restrained by the Protectorate officers though their grip on her had slackened considerably. “Arius Nualla, is this correct?” Councilor Tammore asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Absolutely,” Nualla answered without missing a beat. I hadn’t intended to make her an accomplice to my lies, but it was also something they could never prove was false.

I took another deep breath and spoke without being asked to do so. “I know we’re young, and I know we did a lot of dumb things, but no one has been hurt by our actions—except us,” I pointed out as I held up my broken arm.

Councilor Tammore sat silent for a few moments before he looked at the other councilors. “We will discuss these new facts and make a decision on the matter.” He looked back at us. “Officers, make sure they remain here.”

The Protectorate officers nodded as the councilors stood and exited the room through a doorway behind the council table.

The minutes crept by, seeming like hours. But eventually the councilors came back out and sat before us, their expressions unreadable.

“Mr. Connolly, upon deliberation we have decided that your actions, while not
legal
, were in good faith. We will stay our proclamation of execution for the time being. However, you
must
be legally married here by the end of June, and you
must
become a daemon no later than July seventh. Is that clear?” Councilor Tammore asked, glaring sternly down at me.

“Perfectly,” I answered in the clearest voice I could manage.

“Then our business here is complete for now.”

“So you’re not going to kill me?” I asked, shocked.

“Not today, Mr. Connolly, but do try not to break any
more
laws in the future,” he replied in a clear, authoritative voice before changing his focus to the room as a whole. “You are all free to go.”

I turned around to face Nualla. “Did you hear that, I’m—” but I never got a chance to finish because a sobbing Nualla leapt into my arms.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a kiss. Her kisses were salty tearful kisses, but they were still welcome and nice. After a while, someone coughed behind us, and I opened an eye to look at Alex.

He leaned in and whispered, “Maybe we should leave
before
they change their minds.”

I pulled my lips away from Nualla’s long enough to answer, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

When we got out of The Embassy something finally occurred to me. I would have thought to ask before if I hadn’t been fighting for my life.

“Nualla, how did you get here?”

“I drove,” she answered, not meeting my eyes.

I looked out at the empty street in front of us. “Then where’s your car?”

“Oh, about seven blocks away where someone just so happened to have taken out a fire hydrant with an invisible car.” Nualla answered as she started to walk down the steps.

I stopped walking and stared at her in shock. “Are you
okay
?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, but the car’s frakked.”

36

Succession of Consequences

Monday, February 20th

NUALLA

T
he rest of the weekend had gone off without a hitch. None of us felt much like leaving the house—stress can do that to you. So the weekend mostly consisted of TV marathons and teasing Patrick when he was in his highly medicated state.

And so we found ourselves—Nikki, Patrick, and I, eating breakfast in the kitchen Monday morning as if the last week had never happened. Except Patrick was in my house on a school day morning—oh,
and
he had a broken arm. I was about halfway through eating my Parmesan toast when the ePrinter started printing a message.

“What on earth is that thing?” Patrick asked between bites of his breakfast.

“An electronic paper printer; pretty awesome, huh?” Nikki said with a huge grin.

“Electronic paper?” Patrick asked in confusion.

I leaned over and grabbed the ePaper from the printer and held it up for him to see.

“But there’s nothing on it,” he said, eyeing it dubiously.

“Sure there is, you just can’t see it; just like you can’t see the stuff that’s on your Blue Card.”

“So what does it say?” he asked, still staring at me like I was from space or something.

I looked down at it and nearly choked, it was from The Embassy, and it was addressed to
me
. Oh, this was not going to be good, I could just feel it.

I pressed my finger into the biometric seal, and it loaded instantly. “Oh,
frak
me,” I said, staring at the summons in disbelief. “I’ve been summoned to appear before the Grand Council—today.”

Nikki and Patrick looked at me open-mouthed.

“For
what
? Is it serious?” Nikki asked, trying to look over at the ePaper from across the table.

“Oh, it’s nothing; I just might lose the right of succession,” I said, putting my head in my hand.

“Does this have something to do with me?” Patrick asked anxiously as he put his spoon down.

“Yes and no; mostly no,” I sighed as I looked into his eyes. “It’s mostly because of what
I
did, not what
you
did.”

“Oh,” Patrick said in a quiet voice.

I pushed away from the table and stood up. “Look, I have to take care of this now. Nikki, take Patrick to school, I’ll see you guys later.”

“With what car? Your Vanq is in the shop,” Nikki pointed out as she reenacted a car crash with her hands.

“Then have
Shawn
take you guys, or call a cab. Either way, I’ve got to go.”

I took a few steps away before I turned back and walked back to Patrick. I had told myself that no matter what, I would never walk away without kissing him goodbye. Just in case it was a goodbye one of us wouldn’t be coming back from.

He looked startled as I marched back into the room, but not half as startled as he looked when I slid into his lap. “Before I go, I need to give you something.”

I didn’t even give him a chance to ask
what
.

When I arrived at The Embassy it wasn’t swamped yet, probably because it was a Monday morning before eight. I walked up to the counter and handed over my summons to the receptionist. She looked at it, eyebrows raised for a second before typing on the computer in front of her.

“They will be able to see you in about an hour, Arius Nualla,” she said, handing the summons back to me.

“Fabulous,” I groaned, rolling my eyes.

What the hell am I going to do for an hour?

Coffee. If I was going to face the Grand Council, I sure as
hell
didn’t want to do it without having a proper dose of caffeine first.

I walked past The Embassy reception area to the first bank of elevators. The cafe on the third floor should be opened by now. If not, there were a dozen coffee shops on the street that certainty would be.

As I was waiting for the elevator, a familiar voice spoke from behind me. A voice I
so
did not want to have a conversation with at this time, especially in my current caffeineless state. “
So
…I heard about your outburst the other day,” Travis said before sipping the coffee in his hand.

“Don’t
even
start, Travis. I don’t need to hear this from anyone, especially
you
.” I was beginning to wish I had never gotten out of bed this morning.

The elevator door dinged, and I stepped on and pushed the close button. He was too quick and pushed back the closing doors.

“Wait,
Nualla
.”

Great.
We were alone in a place where I couldn’t escape. “Nualla, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” he babbled, pulling on my arm.

I turned around to glare at him, but his eyes were kind and pleading.
Sigh.
I couldn’t really stay mad at Travis for any length of time, and he knew it. Sometimes I would fight it for a while, but after the past week I was all out of fight.

“Why do I
always
run into you on days when I really don’t want to talk to anyone?”

“Because those are the days when you need to talk to someone the most,” Travis answered as he leaned against the wall. In one swift motion he pressed his hand against the biometric reader and pressed a button. The elevator came to a gentle stop.

“What are you
doing
?!” I asked incredulously, gripping the walls. I would never admit it to a soul, but elevators creeped me the hell out.

“It’s very clear you need to talk, but the minute those doors open you’re going to bolt and you know it.”

I looked at him. “You know this is kidnapping, right?”

“So report me for treason,” Travis answered, leaning close—
dangerously
close.

My heart started beating a frantic rhythm, and I finally had to admit it to myself. The truth. That if Patrick had never fallen into my life, I probably would have said
yes
to Travis. That I had been falling aimlessly through the last few years; waiting. Waiting for him to step a little too close. Waiting for him to give me a sign. Waiting for him to ask. And he had kept me waiting for years; until it was far past too late.

I really did
not
want to tell him about the elevator thing, but I couldn’t help it, I was already starting to hyperventilate. Because I was trapped in this little cramped space or because he was so close—or
both
.

I looked up at Travis with panicked eyes and the crooked smile left his face. “Nualla are you—”

“Get me the
hell
out of this elevator, Travis!” I shouted, pressing myself against the wall.

“Elevators,
really
? How could I have not noticed that?” Travis asked with a wry smile.

Everything around me was starting to get hazy. “For the gods’ sake, Travis, I’ll answer all your frakkin’ questions; just please,
please
get me out of here.”

“Okay, look here we go,” he said as he pressed his hand against the reader again, and the elevator jolted upward.

A few very tense moments later the doors opened, and I let him lead me out of the elevator. I didn’t even notice where we were going until we were in his lab, amongst its familiar and comforting mixture of sterile white and tech junk.

After we had been there for gods only knew how long, Travis finally spoke, “Well, I guess you got your answer.”

“Huh?” I said, looking over at him in confusion.

“I asked you before if you regretted your decision to marry Patrick. If you did, you wouldn’t have done what you did on Friday.”

“
Oh
, I guess you’re right,” I said, a little shocked at myself. It was weird to think about how unsure I had been about the whole Patrick and me thing only a few short weeks ago. Then something occurred to me. “Wait, how did
you
find out what I did?”

“You
do
realize that there are cameras in this whole building, right? They have your whole outburst on record,” Travis answered with a crooked smile.

“Oh,
frak
me,” I cursed, hanging my head back in the chair.

“I’m not
even
going to respond to that;
way
too easy. And you would probably hit me.”

“Travis, if it was an invitation, you would know—
believe
me.”

“
Is
it?” he asked, snapping up straight.

“Not a chance in hell, Travis.”

“Yeah, figured as much,” he sighed, rolling his eyes. Minutes passed before he looked over at me again. “So what
are
you doing here today? It’s a Monday, shouldn’t you be in school?”

I held up the ePaper. “I’ve been summoned to appear before the Grand Council.”

“For
what
?”

“A Succession hearing,” I answered, gesturing dramatically with the summons.

“
What
?!” Travis sat up so quickly, he nearly fell out of his chair.

“Patrick’s off the hook, but I’m not yet. I technically committed an act of treason. If they find me guilty, I will be barred from succeeding Alex as the next
chancellarius
.”

“That’s just crazy!”

“Yeah, but I’ve pushed my luck too far with them. I’m probably going to lose.”

“So we would be stuck with Andraya?” Travis said, folding his arms.

“Were you honestly hoping that someday it would be me?” I asked with a derisive snort.

“Yeah actually; you’d shake things up in here,” Travis replied, smirking at me mischievously.

“I’m pretty sure I do a fine job of
that
already,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Yeah, from what I hear your aunt was a wildcat too, but she seems to have nothing on you.”

“Thanks, Travis.” I had heard comments like that on one too many occasions; usually when I was being yelled at.

After a while, Travis came over and leaned on the table next to me. “
So
…since you’re not married at the moment, can I kiss you?”

“You’re actually
asking
this time?” I asked wryly.

“Yeah,” Travis answered, blushing ever so slightly.

“You do and I’ll punch you, Travis,” I stated with a glare.

A beeping went off and the ePaper in my hands blinked.

“I guess they’re ready for me, catch you later,” I said, standing up and starting toward the door. “Oh and I’m stealing your coffee,” I informed him, holding it up.

“
Hey
!”

“You interrupted me getting mine, so you’ll just have to suffer. I have a date with some not so happy people, and I’m not doing it without coffee.”

When I arrived at the Grand Council chambers it was eerily silent. Maybe it was just a morning thing. The Protectorate officers opened the doors, and I walked into the room. Only eight of the seats were filled. My dad was nowhere to be seen. It was the first time I had ever been to the Council chambers and he had not been there. It was unsettling, to say the least.

“Arius Nualla, thank you for heeding our summons. I gather you understand why Chancellarius Galathea is not with us today,” Councilor Tammore said as he looked down at me.

“I do.” I hadn’t
really
until he mentioned it, but now I did. As far as conflicts of interest went, this would be pretty high on the list.

“Very well then, let us begin. Arius Nualla, you put your own self-interest before the law and the good of the subjects of this region. A ruler cannot do such things.”

“I know, councilors.” I wanted to look at my feet, away from his eyes, but I fought the urge.

“When you become ruler of a region, you must swear an oath to act in the interest of the people
first
and your family
second
.”

Now I fully understood my dad’s actions. He was bound. He had had no choice but to take Patrick in or face treason charges himself.

I took a deep breath. I refused to lie to them, even if that meant I would lose the right to succession. I was not ashamed of my decisions, and I would make the same ones again in a heartbeat. I held my head high and said in the strongest voice I could manage, “That is something I cannot do, councilors.”

“
What
?!” Councilor Tammore asked, shocked. It was clear that he had been absolutely certain that I would bow down and accept the oath. But yielding was not something I did easily,
especially
when I didn’t agree with what I was being asked to yield to in the first place.

I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin a fraction higher. “I cannot do what you are asking of me, so I guess you have your answer,” I stated, purposefully leaving off the honorific.

Councilor Tammore looked at me for one dumbfounded moment before he spoke. “Then Arius Nualla, this Council has no choice than to—”

“
Wait
.” They all turned to look at Councilor Reynes who had just stood. “Arius Nualla is young, in time her views may change. This decision should be put off until a time when we find ourselves without the current Chancellarius Galathea.”

“I second this,” Shawn’s father, Councilor Roy Vallen announced standing as well.

Councilor Tammore paused for a second to look at the other nodding heads before looking back at me. “Very well; this Council will suspend this decision until such a time as the succession is necessary. You may leave, Arius Nualla.”

“Thank you, councilors,” I said with a slight bow before turning on my heel and getting the hell out of Dodge.