“You have,” Abioye mumbled.
“You are my beloved younger brother, Abioye, and I would never change that. But sometimes, even I wonder if you will ever be able to accept my birthright,” she said, and I saw Inyene’s brow crease in confusion as she wrestled with the question.
She’s frog-hopping mad, I realized. She was so convinced of her own importance – and the right to be important – that even she didn’t see how mad she was.
“I understand, my sister – my queen,” Abioye mumbled, and Inyene beamed at him, letting him go.
“Then let us find the Stone Crown and finally take back Torvald!” She raised her hand, gesturing to where the doors at the back of the room had opened, and I turned to see two guards carrying the large metal box that my uncle and I had found.
“Hmph.” Inyene’s eyes narrowed as Montfre and Abioye carefully unpacked the contents of the box before her, first unrolling the large painted image of the Lady Artifex and her dragon Maliax. It was strange to see the image again, and I was struck by how similar (red hair, green eyes, pale skin) and yet how completely different the Lady Artifex and the ‘Lady’ Inyene were. The Lady Artifex looked hopeful, where Inyene scowled. Artifex had been painted healthy and strong, whereas Inyene appeared desiccated by her passions.
Like they were two versions of the same person, one good, and one—
“Just the map,” Inyene said, her casual disregard for the image of the woman insulting. I wondered if this image of a stronger, healthier version of herself was what upset her so much.
“If I may, sister,” Abioye said nervously. “The journal and the map have to be understood together.” He put both of his hands together into one clasping motion. He picked up the leather-bound book as Montfre unfolded the old vellum map on the marble floor.
It was larger than I remembered it, and I found myself starting to lean closer automatically. Down one side were the sharp, stylized triangles of mountains – with several of them displayed prominently, or with broken gaps between them.
The largest, middle space however was mostly empty, save for waving lines back and forth, leading to other, smaller pictures. I saw ‘X’s and other, rounded curls with arrow heads on the end.
“This is the keep, where we are…” Montfre announced as he pointed a finger over the edge of the mountains. There was a small picture of a tower, and a tiny asterisk. Suddenly, the entire image came into focus for me, a little like when Ymmen had shared his senses with me and they had seemed chaotic at first, until they had finally all come together to make sense.
If that’s the keep, then that is the pass that I flew over with Ymmen, to the north of us. Spreading my eyes outwards over what had to be the Plains, it was looking down at them from a great height, able to see all of them at the same time! I saw the Southern Plains, where the warmth grew oppressive and the summers arid – and they were marked differently from the Middle Plains, where I came from. Here, the map was dotted with more waving lines and more tufts of what looked like stands of grass.
And that meant that up there had to be the Northern Plains. I saw more hills and trees and small circles – and I knew from experience that the Northern Plains were certainly a hillier and forested, colder land with many lakes.
“Do you recognize anything here?” Inyene asked me pointedly. I had to nod.
“Yes, Your Highness.” I said, pointing to one of the places where the small, curving arrow was situated. “That’s one of the old ruins of a tower,” I said matter-of-factly, and scanned for the next one. Yes, it seemed to fit. I tapped the vellum just over the next curling arrow.
“I’ve seen something like that before…at the Academy.” Montfre was frowning, tapping his chin. “That arrow – it’s something to do with the Dragon Riders, or what was before the Dragon Riders perhaps… The Dragon Monks.”
Ha! I suddenly saw the small image for what it had to be. The curling, forked tail of a dragon.
“And so – everywhere that we see that image we can also presume that is where the very first Dragon Monks made an outpost.” Inyene was smiling, congratulating herself. “Abioye? You may study the map and the journal. Learn everything you can from it – I must know what Her Majesty, the Empress Delia, did with our Stone Crown, and where she hid it!”
Inyene crowed in delight as she sat back in her throne, but all I could see was a woman on the very edge of all reason.
“We will start the preparations for our expedition immediately,” Inyene announced.
Expedition?
“Sister – we don’t even know where the Stone Crown is hidden,” Abioye said from his place beside me, sweating. Was he saying all of this stuff just to buy us some time? I wondered.
Inyene had stood up, and looked down at her brother, kneeling on the floor between Montfre and me – the slaves. “Brother,” she said coldly, exactingly. “I am certain that with your intelligence, and with those fine tutors I brought for you, that you will be able to decipher the map and the journal’s secrets. Either tonight or on the way,” she said with a small smile. “You are up to the task, aren’t you?”
Abioye blanched, but nodded. The implication in Inyene’s words didn’t have to be said aloud – she would find someone else to do his tasks if he could not. And then what use would her brother be to her?
“Good. Then, as a reward you will lead my expedition to recover the Stone Crown, and you will leave as soon as we have amassed the supplies!” She raised the scepter in her hands and brought it down on the metal arm of the chair to the sound of a dull clang, just like I had seen Tamin do sometimes when he had deliberated on village disputes.
“I will need to take these two!” Abioye said quickly. “The Daza girl will act as a guide, and Montfre – well, you know the marvelous skills that Montfre has,” Abioye said, as Inyene was already turning to go.
“Fine.” Inyene waved her hand. “Take who you need. But my guards – and dragons – will go with you.” She said with finality, before turning to stalk out of the throne room. I saw Dagan Mar throw me a sharp, poisonous look before he, too, followed her.
What have you done? I thought as I looked to Abioye. I didn’t know how to feel about this. I would be farther away from the scepter – unless Inyene was going to come with us? I would be farther away from my fellow trapped people here.
But I might also be able to send word to the rest of the Daza on the Plains, I thought.
Chapter 21
Some Stupid Relic
“An expedition! To find some stupid relic!!” I hissed as I followed Abioye through the Keep. I was holding one of the heavy rings of the metal box while Montfre was holding the other – as Abioye had announced that we would start our research right away.
“My apartments are up here.” Abioye nodded to a set of winding stairs, flanked by two heavyset guards. I kept my eyes lowered and my head down as they respectfully touched their fingers to their foreheads as Abioye passed. As soon as we had rounded a few turns of the stairs however, I could clearly hear the guards snigger behind us.
Whatever position and prestige Abioye has, it completely relies on being the brother of Inyene, I realized. The guards here didn’t respect him at all.