Memory's Wake Omnibus: The Complete Illustrated YA Fantasy Series (57 page)

Eloryn smiled warmly at him. “Thank you, for your help. I won’t forget it. Rest assured you would have been in no trouble from me or my sister if it came to that.”

Erec smirked. “It’s not you and yours I’m worried about. It’s my brother that’d kill me if I let you come to harm.”

Roen got Erec to help him across to the man with the eye-patch and took a piece of paper from the man’s pocket. Eloryn followed and stared at the poster with the etching of Roen’s face

“The bounty?” Eloryn asked. “Who set it?”

Roen scrunched the paper in his hands and dropped it to the floor. “People I have wronged. I was recognized not long ago by someone from an estate I once robbed. Only that was supposed to have been dealt with.” Roen paused, putting his thumb against his lips and shaking his head. “Maybe the man who spoke with Hayes wasn’t the only one to have seen me.”

Eloryn bent and picked up the crumpled poster, squeezing it tight in her hands. She didn’t want anyone else to find it. “I’ll make sure they are appeased, anything to keep you safe.”

Roen put his hand over hers. “No. It’s time I faced my past.”

Roen spoke well, when faced with the formal gathering of Avall’s nobles, wizards, legal authorities, and his parents. Eloryn had never been more proud of him and nervous for him.

“Know that I am ashamed of my thieving. For myself, and for my family. But also know this. I would never change my past because without it I would never have had my path cross with that of the Maellan twins. They are a treasure in my life, as they are to all of Avall.”

The confession was followed by his promises to try to repay those he wronged, then Eloryn took over and offered Roen an absolute and unconditional royal pardon. She spoke heartfelt words of how Roen had given himself to her cause. From the applause of the crowd, it seemed they agreed that everything Roen had done to help the Maellan twins and to defeat Thayl outweighed any crimes from his past. Memory cheered for him in a boisterous and decidedly unladylike manner, which made Eloryn grin wider than she knew was proper for her station.

When the meeting ended, Eloryn amazed herself that she held in her tears when Roen’s parents both brought him into an embrace. She watched from a distance as the three of them held each other for a long moment.

Erec leaned in to whisper in her ear from his usual place by her side. “I’ve had a few men scouring the city, and all bills and mentions of the bounty on Roen have been removed.”

“Thank you,” Eloryn whispered back. She breathed out shakily. She’d been more scared than she wanted to admit. Crime of any kind was treated harshly in Avall. She could still see some of the guests gossiping amongst themselves, enjoying the scandal of it all. But now it was public and officially forgiven Roen should be safe from further reprisals.

Erec cleared his throat and spoke even softer. “Those from the estate named on the poster are denying having any knowledge of the bounty.”

“Has there been any further information from the bounty hunters on who they were to meet with, or who tipped them off as to where to find Roen that day?”

Erec set his jaw and stepped back in line behind Eloryn.

Hayes appeared, looking stern and sympathetic. “Those cutthroats knew nothing more than what was on the bounty poster and have since been disposed of as they should be.”

Hayes put an arm around Eloryn, directing her to a quiet corner of the room. “Your majesty, I know you had your qualms before, but when even a close friend of the queen can be attacked in broad daylight, surely now you have reason enough to grant me, as Legate of Civil Defence, the use of military force. The streets are filled with criminals such as those men. If you had given me control earlier, this entire, almost fatal mess could have been avoided.”

Eloryn looked across the room to where Isabeth fussed over Roen. By the time they’d gotten him into a carriage and Eloryn had begun healing him, he’d lost a dangerous amount of blood. Now he had not a mark on him to reveal what he’d suffered, but Eloryn could almost still feel the wounds herself. Her hesitation had killed Waylan, and again her hesitation almost killed Roen.

Hayes paused to lick his lips. “Illegal bounties have become more commonplace with the increase in poverty. There simply isn’t enough authority to deal with it all, and so a lot of the victims of crime will turn to illegal bounties and rough mercenaries for help. If we were granted a larger police force, or militia, we would be able to clean up the streets of those who would hang and whip a man for money.”

Eloryn held her hand up to silence Hayes. “Yes. I’ve heard enough. Yes. Please do what you must to make our land safe.”

Hayes bowed and then gave her a modest hug. “You are a wise ruler, my child. Sometimes the best thing someone in power can do is hand that duty over to someone who will be more capable in the role.”

The kitchens of the shelter were smaller than those at the palace, but just as busy. The food being prepared was also much simpler fare, but Memory was amused to see that her hamburgers were becoming popular on the shelter menu. She knew she had Clara to thank for that. Workers in white aprons loaded trays for delivering lunch into the mess hall as Memory finished discussing the meal planning with the head chef.

Clara leaned on a bench next to Memory and scrutinized her. “I don’t like this at all.”

Memory wiped her forehead, the heat of the kitchen making her sweat. She was tired and feeling dazed at everything she’d taken on. She second guessed her every decision. “Do you think I’m budgeting for food wrong?”

“No. I don’t like this, seeing all this food pass under your nose and you not taking a bite. Who are you and what have you done with my Hope?”

“I’m Memory, for starters. And I’m just not hungry.”

“No, that doesn’t sound like you at all. You’ve barely been eating anything lately. You’re acting so differently, I may have to do some tests to make sure you’ve not been replaced with a changeling,” Clara joked and picked up a small bowl of pudding.

Memory took a small bite out of some bread and choked it down. She didn’t really feel like eating. Food had become tasteless for her. “Satisfied?”

“Only if you finish all of it, and then another, and maybe one more, then I’ll be convinced you’re really you. And you can let me know what’s happening with you and that fine gentleman of yours while you’re at it,” Clara grinned and popped a spoonful of pudding in her mouth.

Memory’s heart seemed to clamp shut. “I haven’t seen Will for ages. And also, really? Will? A gentleman?”

Clara raised an eyebrow. “I meant Dylan.”

“Oh.” Memory felt her face grow hot.
Why did I think Clara was talking about Will?
He had been on her mind a lot since she managed to open a door back to their home world. But it should have been obvious she meant Dylan.

“I’m just studying with him. That’s all.”

Memory still wasn’t sure how she felt about Dylan, but there had been more visits, and more kissing. He was the one person she could be around and feel completely wanted, but she didn’t feel like their relationship was developing, despite Dylan’s enthusiasm. Memory wondered if her inability to be enthusiastic back was due to her broken soul. She certainly blamed that for her allowing things to continue despite her lack of feelings. She was already broken, already a monster, and Dylan was the only person who seemed to want her anyway, so she’d take it.

A commotion broke their conversation, and Memory could hear Maeve yelling a stream of Avall curse words. She ran to the front door to see what was happening, Clara on her heels.

A squad of armed men had entered the shelter, facing off with Maeve and Peirs. The men wore guard uniforms marked with the symbol of the Wizard’s Council that Memory had seen before.

On spotting Memory, the men stepped back and stood at attention.

“What’s happening?” Memory asked, coming to stand beside Maeve.

Maeve swiped a punch through the air, directed at the men. “They are here to close us down, but I won’t let them.”

“Under whose authority? You know who I am, right?” Memory asked the men.

The men nodded. “Councilor Hayes has classified this building as a house of ill-repute, and a beacon for undesirables. He requires it be emptied and closed immediately for the betterment of the city.”

“That’s ridiculous. This is a solution to the problem, not the cause,” Memory said.

The guard just shrugged. “Orders are orders.”

I’m arguing with the wrong person.
Memory stepped between her friends and the militia men. “You’ll have to go back and say I wouldn’t let you carry out your orders then, because unless your orders allow dragging me out of here kicking and screaming then you’re getting nothing done here today.”

The guards looked at each other as though assessing their options, then bowed and left hurriedly.

Memory rubbed her forehead with both of her palms. Everything she tried to do, everyone she grew close to, everything she wanted. She would lose all of it. The inevitability turned her blood to cold sludge.

When she turned around she saw that both Peirs and Maeve had their hands on hilts of daggers. Clara just looked stunned.

“They will be back,” Peirs said grimly. “Hayes has been taking action all over the city to remove vagrants, but that’s not all. I’ve also heard rumors that he’s using his militia to gain control of the trade guilds through force.”

“Why hasn’t Eloryn done anything about all this?” Memory questioned.

“I doubt she even knows,” Maeve said, her hands on her slim hips.

Clara spoke, her tone scandalous and low. “I see his control even at the palace. Since your uncle was arrested there has been a steady stream of prisoners coming into the castle. Anyone who questions the queen or the Council is arrested, and a lot of them don’t come out again.” Clara made a delicate swipe across her neck with one finger.

“You mean anyone who questions Hayes.” Memory looked at the three of them before her. “Damn it. Guys, you can talk like this to me, but watch yourselves, okay?”

They nodded seriously. Memory looked around the shelter. From every doorway leading into to the entrance foyer, from between the bars of the stairway banister, little eyes watched. Memory couldn’t let anything happen to them, but she couldn’t be here all the time.

Memory was suddenly glad she’d let Clara dress her up with more accessories that day. Memory unclasped her necklace and started slipping rings off her fingers. She placed them down on a side table, along with her purse and the gold it contained. She stripped brooches and jeweled buttons off her dress and the ornate buckles off her shoes. She took off a heavy gold bangle, leaving just Edele’s wooden bracelet on her wrist. Her hair had been pinned up using golden filigree combs which she removed, letting her hair fall free, still short above her neck at the back. Maeve put a hand to her mouth as though the sight of the cropped hair shocked her.

Memory pointed to the pile of valuables. “Maeve, Peirs, get all the kids together and find somewhere to lay low while Hayes is on his rampage. Use this stuff to get you through until I work something out. I’ll try talking to him or Eloryn. They can’t shut us down.”

Memory said it but didn’t believe it.
If I believed it I’d be letting them stay.

Memory stared at the wealth on the table for a moment, then picked out the three most beautiful pieces and presented them to each of her friends. “I want you each to have something as well, to say thank you for being there for me, and to keep you safe.”

Her companions were speechless as Memory made her goodbyes and beckoned Clara to begin their ride back to the palace.