The Broken Kingdom (2 page)

It took a while for the shock to wear off.
For a few days Vann moved about as if in a haze. He was relieved of
duty for this time, but he didn’t realize it. Afterwards, he
couldn’t really remember what he’d done during that time.

The news spread like wildfire. And it did
not die down. Everywhere he went all he heard was talk about how,
‘finally the Astarians do something useful!’ and, ‘Congratulations,
Vann!’ and, ‘I knew there was something wrong with her from the
start. Why, she was probably a Reezelian like Lissel from
Romance by the Sea
, poor Jann!’

Oddly enough it was when he heard that last
comment that he finally snapped.

‘Why are you still talking about that
play?!’ he yelled at the startled woman. ‘It was the most
predictable crap the theatre has ever put on! What’s wrong with
you?!’

‘
Romance by the Sea
is a timeless
classic!’ the woman screeched back.

‘Did you get hit by a lightning rod when you
were a child?!’

The woman’s friend grabbed her arm and
started whispering in her ear.

And then Vann felt arms grab him. It was a
fellow submariner, one of his friends.

‘Are you alright?’ Gavann asked, concern in
his eyes. Vann realized he was being dragged away from the
brainless woman.

‘What?’

‘I know it was bad, but was it really
that
bad? You need to get back on a sub!’

Anger filled Vann, deep, poisonous anger. It
energized him, pulled him from the cloud of grief he had been
stumbling through. He felt sick with it. He jerked away from
Gavann.

He looked around at Coastside. This place
had once been so familiar, but now he felt like he didn’t recognize
it. The faces all belonged to strangers. He didn’t know where these
roads led. On the walls of buildings, everywhere, copies of that
hateful picture were pasted.

Every word he heard seemed to be about
Riley.

All of Coastside celebrated her death.

It was the first time Lillia had seen Vann
since the news. He paced around her room, a manic look to him. He
was pale, dark shadows under his eyes.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t looked for him
before, but no one seemed to know where the hero was.

‘Vann,’ she began.

Suddenly he stopped pacing. His intense grey
gaze locked on her. It was intimidating.

‘I’m sorry.’ she said.

For a moment surprise flashed across his
face, followed by relief, then suspicion. ‘What are you sorry
about?’ he demanded.

‘I see you’re upset,’ she began honestly,
‘I’m sorry, Vann.’

‘You’re sorry I’m upset?’ His voice was
rising. ‘That’s
all?
Really, Lillia, that’s all you have to
be sorry about?’

‘She seemed a nice enough girl. I’m sorry
the girl I met is dead, Vann, but I’m not sorry the leader of the
gemengs, who happens to know all about the defences of Coastside
and Astar is dead. I can’t be sorry about that.’

‘She was never going to attack us!’ he
roared. ’She let us into the caves, Lillia! We deceived and
betrayed her! We’re the bad guys here, can’t you see that?!

Lillia sighed. She was not in the habit of
lying about her opinions to please those around her. And she
couldn’t lie about this. ‘I don’t know it’s that simple.’

‘And the fish people, Lillia, should we kill
them too?’

‘Vann…’

‘Answer me!’

‘They don’t present the same danger she did.
Vann, you’re so trusting, but you have to see that maybe there’s
another side to this.’

He stared at her, dismayed. Then he shook
his head. The look that came next was hard, almost disgusted.

‘We haven’t been fighting the gemengs for
hundreds of years for no reason, Vann.’ she continued
helplessly.

‘How would you know, Lillia? The next
hundred years of fighting are going to be for no reason. We didn’t
have to be enemies. I never knew you were so… narrow minded.’

‘Vann!’ Lillia cried, angry and offended. ‘I
am sorry, I never expected you to let a pretty face blind you to
reason!’

Vann looked at her coolly. ‘Excuse me, I
have some things to do.’

He stalked out of the room. The door slammed
behind him.

The anger trickled away from Lillia. She
sighed. She wasn’t going to take this personally. He was angry and
bitter, and that was understandable. So she would be there for him.
She would wait this out.

Vann ran down to the side beach. He ran so
fast by the time he was there he was sweaty and panting.

‘Zap Zap!’ he called.

The surf rolled into the beach, out again.
No Zap Zap.

Vann sighed as he sat down on the sand to
wait.

Vann didn’t know how long he waited. He
struggled to pay attention, to stay alert. Leapers frequented this
beach after all. But his mind kept going round and round. These
thoughts were terrible. His chest tightened, his eyes burned. He
didn’t know how he could stay in Coastside, everyone, even Lillia,
thought Riley’s death a cause for celebration. But how could he go
anywhere else? Astar would be even worse. And outside… he’d get
eaten by ehlkrid for sure. And without Riley, the gemengs weren’t
much different from what the humans thought.

There was a splash. Vann stilled, his heart
racing. His hand clamped on his lightning rod. Leaper?

‘Vann?’

Vann looked up in relief. Zap Zap was
splashing in the surf, a concerned look on his wet, slimy face.

‘Zap Zap.’ Vann stood shakily, relieved.
‘Zap Zap, you need to leave, stay away from Coastside.’

‘Why? Vann here. Coastside friend to fish
people.’

‘No, Zap Zap. No. Humans aren’t friends. You
can’t ever trust humans, Zap Zap. Take your people away from
here.’

Zap Zap splashed, unhappy and confused.
‘Why? Vann friend.’

‘They killed her, Zap Zap. Riley. They blew
her up and all her friends. You need to leave.’ Vann’s voice
wavered, he could not say this strongly enough. ‘Please, Zap Zap.
Go away. Take the fish people with you. Go somewhere there are no
humans. And don’t… don’t trust any humans you meet. Riley trusted
us.’

Zap Zap splashed, and water trickled down
his face from his green seaweed hair. ‘Vann friend.’

‘I know. That’s why I need you to
leave.’

Zap Zap bobbed in the surf and did not say
anything for a long time.

Then, ‘Zap Zap miss Vann.’

‘I’ll miss you too. But please, go.’

There was a splash. A flash of silver, Zap
Zap’s tail.

Then he was gone.

Vann did not quite have the strength to face
Commander Reista after that. Zap Zap had been his only friend left,
Vann could not bear to be near anyone else.

He slept in the Blocks because he had
nowhere else to sleep. He went to bed late and got up early to
avoid talking to any submariners. During the day he wandered,
avoiding everyone as best he could.

He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t be
here, couldn’t live with these people. But he couldn’t go anywhere
else either.

But there was one thing he had to do.

And so a few days later Vann presented
himself to the Commander. He stood at attention before him.
Waiting.

‘Submariner Hilyard.’ the Commander said.
‘What brings you here?’ His eyes lingered on Vann’s uniform. It was
conspicuously badge free.

‘Sir, I am resigning from the
submariners.’

The Commander’s eyebrows rose. ‘Resigning? I
understand recent events have troubled you. I think a place can be
found for you though, you can be promoted shoreside, or perhaps
just take extended leave.’

‘No, Sir. I’m resigning.’ Vann said firmly.
The Commander’s permission didn’t really matter. Vann was not
risking his life for Coastside anymore.

‘I see. Very well then.’

At that Vann placed a form on his desk,
already filled out.

‘Hmm,’ the Commander murmured as he glanced
over it. ‘What nice penmanship you have. Go up to the Square
tomorrow morning. Everything will be settled by then.’

Vann nodded and waited for permission to
leave.

‘You may go.’

Vann turned. As he opened the door he heard
the Commander’s voice, ‘you don’t happen to know why the fish
people have disappeared from Coastside do you, Vann?’

‘I would think you’d be pleased.’ he said
coldly. ‘An alliance with gemengs is neither wanted nor
needed.’

And with that Vann slammed the door behind
him.

Chapter 2

R
umours had been
abounding throughout the city for days – Vearla would leave them,
monsters were approaching, they’d angered the valkar, and other
similarly absurd stories. Recha didn’t really believe anything was
wrong until he was invited to visit Vearla, alone.

He made his way along the narrow, natural
tunnel through the mountain in trepidation. This was highly
unusual. He was a translator; he only had the honour of visiting
Vearla when he was translating for the Astarians. And never, ever,
had he visited her alone.

He wondered what the problem could be; the
monstrous creatures had circled Cavachi more frequently of late,
were they upsetting her?

Recha was surprised when he finally reached
the end of the tunnel. Vearla had not been singing. He found Vearla
facing away from the view out her tiny cave, one hand pressed
against the rock wall, the other pressed tightly to her chest.

‘Honoured one,’ he began humbly, feeling
very out of place, alone, in her exalted presence. At the same time
he was uneasy at the distraught look on her face. ‘Mistress, what
is the problem?’ Had no one else been able to comfort her? Was that
why they had sent him, had they already tried everyone else she
knew?
But how am I to help her
, he wondered, as her dark
eyes looked up to his,
what can I do that the others
haven’t?