BPL2 - Chapter 5

And there it was—this was a trap. How could this pirate king possibly know her? Lylan relaxed her stance, ready to defend herself. “Greetings, Jerrick,” she said calmly. “We’ve met before, have we?”

Jerrick raised his hand and twisted his fingers like a card hustler producing his ante. Between his fingers he now held a heavy silver coin stamped with the image of a centipede shaped like an infinity ring and biting its tail.

It was a Wyrm Coin of Summoning.

Jerrick was a powerful Cultivator and prominent ruler—now that she thought about it, it made sense that someone like him would have been present at Ruwen’s trial by combat in the Spirit Realm. And Lylan had been especially conspicuous that day, being one of only a handful of attendees in possession of a body and a face. Perhaps this wasn’t the trap she’d been waiting for.

Still, Lylan answered cautiously, avoiding the topic. “Thank you all for coming to meet me today. My name is Lylan Keel.”

The second king who had come to stand near Jerrick stared at her with the same look of wonder. He was tall and well-built with dark blond curly hair and a faded scar across his cheek and mouth.

Name: His Majesty the King of Goli

Nickname: Pretty King

Deity: One True God

Class Type: Cultivator - Topaz

Level: 54

“Tell us how you got yourself there,” blurted Goli.

Jerrick slapped him upside the head. “Manners.”

Goli immediately put on an air of obsequiousness, bowing his head. “Your Majesty, I am humbled to be in your presence. Again. It would be an honor to hear the name Goli drop from your noble lips as you guide me with your knowledge of how to physically navigate the Spirit Realm.” He lifted his face, then whacked the third man in the chest with the back of his hand. “That’s Welborne. No need to talk to him if you don’t want.”

Lylan turned her attention to Welborne. Now that she studied his face, he looked familiar and alarm bells went off again. He had grey hair tied back in a leather thong and appeared considerably older than the others.

Name: His Majesty the King of Welborne

Deity: One True God

Class Type: Cultivator - Topaz

Level: 59

“I see you’re an Observer,” said Welborne ruefully. “You may have seen my face in a few of the bulletins.”

She had. This man was a smuggler and a wanted criminal. But the name in Ky’s files hadn’t been Welborne.

“Ah,” said Welborne, noticing her confusion. “How’s this?” He slipped a copper ring onto his finger. Most of his teeth disappeared and his profile changed to the one Lylan remembered. The false one, it turned out.

Name: Gunner ‘Four-Teeth’ Newbury

Class: Merchant

Sub Class: Trader

Specialization: Peddler

Class Rank: Journeyman

Queen of the Pirates, indeed. Lylan smiled and shook her head. “So Four-Teeth Newbury is actually a Topaz-level Cultivator and a king,” she said. “No wonder the Order Enforcers could never catch you. My boss wants a word with you, by the way.”

“They’ll have to get in line,” said Jerrick. “Spy organizations from here to Drachen want to capture him and use him as leverage with the Cadby Cartel. But he’s a slippery one, Welborne.”

“I see that.” Lylan had thought it over during this exchange and decided there was no reason to deny the obvious truth that she’d been in the Spirit Realm. It wasn’t a critical secret anymore, and she didn’t want these guys to think that the knowledge held any power over her. “Do you all visit the Spirit Realm often? Personally, I’d rather grow a Naktos neck sack than ever go back.”

“From time to time we do,” said Jerrick. “Welborne, too, now.”

“Indeed,” said Welborne. He looked longingly at Jerrick’s Wyrm Coin. “I wasn’t at the match. The Welborne Aspect had been lost decades before when the demon killed my father. If you’d carry along my thanks to the Reaper for returning it to our clan, I’d appreciate it.”

Lylan nodded.

Jerrick turned his attention to Gunder and the Mage. “Lord Haybier,” he said to Gunder. “My great-grandfather told me stories of you. I am honored to meet you.”

“And I you.” Gunder bowed. “Your great-grandfather? He must have been very old.”

“Indeed,” said Jerrick. “He was a skilled Cultivator and a cowardly man who refused to join his men in battle. He was also a black-hearted libertine, and it took him many, many years to find a woman who would consent to marry him and bear his children.”

Gunder snapped his fingers. “Skipper. I remember him well. We were all hoping he’d die before he took on the name of Jerrick. I’m surprised he wasn’t assassinated.”

“Oh, he was,” said Jerrick, cheerfully. “My father preferred the life of a sailor to a governor, so it took him longer than expected to get around to it.”

Lylan barely suppressed her grin. These were her kind of people. Sift liked to joke that Lylan had been raised by the villains from a book he read when he… When he…

Suddenly, her vision went white again and the pain in her head surged.

When Lylan’s senses returned, Jerrick was supporting her in his arms, his expression grim.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, sorry,” said Lylan, gently extricating herself from Jerrick. “I died a few hours ago and I’m still recovering, that’s all.”

Jerrick nodded, still looking worried.

She cleared her throat and got down to business. “I’ve come here today with instructions to thank you and your families profusely for the loyalty you’ve shown Ithakros since the death of the last queen. But instead of doing that, I think I ought to be direct with you all. I have no intention of being assassinated today or any other day.”

Gunder restrained his annoyance with admirable success.

Lylan looked at Jerrick. “You all seem very non-homicidal so far, but if you’ve got a problem with the Southern Kingdom getting a new queen, let’s hash that out now before things get truly ugly.”

Goli grinned. “There she is.”

Welborne smiled as well. “We’re here to give you the Keys, not get in the way. Perhaps Norwood can explain it better.”

“That fool?” said Lylan, glancing at the fourth king who was still sleeping at the table.

Name: His Majesty the King of Norwood

Deity: One True God

Class Type: Cultivator - Silver

Level: 30

Lylan scoffed. “I could have flung a dagger through the back of his neck at any time. What kind of king sleeps through a political negotiation?”

“The kind,” grunted Norwood, “who knows he has nothing to worry about.” He sat up and rubbed his face. “Because he knows that no matter how mad his sister is, she wouldn’t kill him. Not from behind, anyway.” Dalyn took off a copper ring just like Welborne’s, and his information returned to normal.

Name: Dalyn Keel

Nickname(s): Loser, Stink Brain, Fancy Boy, Demi-dweeb, Bait Breath… [cont.]

Class: Observer

Sub Class: Shade

Specialization: Thief

Class Rank: Journeyman

Level: 30

Lylan’s crossbow was instantly in her hands and she cocked it with a loud click. “Everyone else get out.”

Nobody moved.

“Out!”

Gunder ushered Hos and the three kings out the door, then closed it behind him.

Lylan shook her head at her brother. “You craven, deceitful, traitorous—”

Dalyn held up both hands. “Relax, sweetheart.”

“You abandoned us,” she shouted. “We nearly died rescuing you from that hellhole in Malth, and then you took off when we most needed your help. Starfield gave up his life for you and—”

“Oh,” said Dalyn, blinking. “Did he actually die, then?”

“THAT IS NOT THE POINT.”

“Listen…” he said. Dalyn was giving her his “I’m charming” smile.

Nope.

“No, you listen!” Lylan took five steps in his direction, crossbow still and ready. “Not only did you weasel away after the fact, but I know the truth now. You only got caught in Malth because you were already a traitor. Who else were you working for when you ransacked that library?”

Dalyn stood slowly, finally wiping the smile off his face and taking her seriously. “I was never working for anyone besides Ky. I swear, Lylan. I swear on Uncle Ress.”

Scratch that. He wasn’t taking this seriously, after all. As children, they used to make oaths to local tradesmen using that line. It was hilarious to them because Uncle Ress didn’t exactly have a reputation worth protecting. “Don’t do that,” said Lylan. “You were sent to recover an ordinary book on the ground level, but Ky saw your arrest records. What were you doing in the Inklord’s office?”

“I was there for you.”

“Explain,” said Lylan. “And be quick about it,” she said, rattling the weapon at him.

“Geez, okay,” he said, waving down the crossbow. “Can we just sit a minute and do this like sane people?”

“No.”

He sighed heavily and sat anyway. “I told you part of this already. You knew I had a side project going.”

Lylan nodded.

“And then, back when you were working in the Pyramid, I told you I found a lead.”

“You did no such thing,” said Lylan.

“I did.” Dalyn gaped at her. “I absolutely did.”

“Well, I…” Lylan blinked hard. Now that he said it, Lylan had a strong sense that he was right, but it was no more than that—a sense. Like deja vu or the memory of the memory.

“Okay, fine,” said Lylan, shaking off the confusion and deciding not to fight about it. “My stupid brain is a little mangled right now, so I’ll just take your word for it.”

“What do you mean your brain is mangled?”

“I just died,” snapped Lylan. “I need a little time to recover, okay? Now get back to your story. Tell it to me from the beginning.”

“Okay,” said Dalyn, frowning as he studied her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. Proceed.”

“So I came to visit you in the Black Pyramid, right? But—like usual because I’m a really enterprising and interesting guy—I had another motive.” He gave a careless shrug. “I’d heard about a derelict tavern on level one, and the name made me curious about whether it had a connection to our family. I searched the tavern and found an old account book.”

“The Tide and Anchor was the tavern,” said Lylan. “I recently found out about it, myself. Why didn’t you tell me what that tavern was?”

“Sorry for not bogging you down with details,” said Dalyn. “But I wasn’t sure of anything yet. Later, I learned that the book I found was part of a set, and that the other had been stolen a long time ago.”

“Why would anyone steal an old account book about our family?”

“They wouldn’t. But they would steal an old account book that contained details about the inner workings of the Black Pyramid—supply shipments and schedules. That kind of information would be valuable to Izac’s operatives, so I figured it would be locked up. That’s why I was in the Inklord’s office, and it turns out I was right.”

“Okay, so you found another book of remarkably outdated intel,” said Lylan. “So what? Was it worth spending months in a Malth prison and putting everyone in danger to rescue you?”

“Was it worth it?” Dalyn laughed. “Look around.” He gestured out the windows. “I got a good look at the tavern’s distributor list before they caught me, and it eventually led me here. To our birthright. Your birthright.”

“Ahh,” said Lylan, clucking her tongue. “So all this was to make your little sister a queen.”

“Yes.”

“No,” barked Lylan. “If this was about me, then why have you been hole up on the beach playing king all this time? Or did your message get lost in transit?”

“By the time I put it all together, you were gone,” snapped Dalyn, finally losing his temper. “You were across the universe in your boyfriend’s pet spaceship. I didn’t even know you were back until last night.”

“Liar,” said Lylan. “You’re all liars. Gunder’s been playing like he didn’t know who I was, but he’s been in on it with you and these pirates since the beginning.”

“No,” said Dalyn, standing. “No, Lylan. I didn’t even know that guy existed until we all got his messages yesterday. He hasn’t set foot here since he came back to life or whatever. We’re all being straight with you.”

Lylan shook her head.

“Lyl.” He walked forward a few paces, slowing when she raised the crossbow again, but not stopping. “I would never betray or lie to you. You know that.”

Loathe though she was to admit it, she did know that. Dalyn might not always share everything, but he would never, ever speak a lie to her face. She took her finger off the trigger. “Fine. But I’m still pissed at you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You shouldn’t have left without a word.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You should have told me about the Tide and Anchor and let me in on your plans for Malth.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that.”

“Stop threatening to shoot me.”

“Ugh.” Lylan stowed the crossbow on her back. “Tell me everything you know.”