The White Dragon Revealed (Dragon's Reign #5)

8. The Rule

THE RULE

“ T ell me why I shouldn’t kill you, Marban?” Valerius said to the smirking--it wasn’t a grin, it was a smirk!--Swarm Shifter who stood like a supplicant in front of him.

Valerius had told Chione to summon Marban from the Below and have him marched to the throne room.No cozy meeting in his quarters. No come at his convenience. It was come now, bring Rose, and not to speak until spoken to. He'd sent Rose immediately to Caden. So Marban would feel the full weight of his fury!

Except Marban seemed not to feel that weight at all but was now smiling benignly at Valerius, seeming as happy to meet in the throne room as anywhere else. Maybe he hadn’t been smirking earlier either. It was hard to go from enemy to ally without some kind of carry over belief that the person was trying to still get one over on you.

But he has gotten one over me! He is trying to use Caden and Iolaire for his own personal gain! To burnish his new found respectability a little more…

If we send a fire stream at him, the bug will sizzle and snap! Raziel added his growl as it looked at Marban’s Spirit form in the mirror.

In that mirror, the room appeared filled with a swarm of wasps who flew like one entity, forming elaborate shapes in the air.

The human form of Marban spread his hands wide and the wasps formed what looked like two giant wings.. The sleeves of his monk’s robes--for gods’ sake, he was wearing monk’s robes to accentuate the idea he was a wise and kind--fell back as he did so. “My king, I am uncertain why you are angry with me. I thought that you would be thanking me.”

“T-thanking you!” Valerius sputtered.

Fire erupted from Raziel’s mouth as it, too, could not believe the Swarm Shifter’s gall. Chione, who was standing to his right side, gently pressed a hand on his shoulder. She didn’t want to see him use hellfire again that day. Really, it was going to take ages to fix the dungeon. If he destroyed the throne room as well… No, he would keep his temper.

“Indeed,” Marban answered with another benign smile and no fear whatsoever. Either he thought he was in no danger or he had ice water in his veins. Likely a little bit of both. Valerius wasn’t a murderer… not anymore in any case. And Marban had weathered the storms of his temper before. “The children had this plan.” He chuckled indulgently. “And, while their hearts were in the right place, the plan wasn’t very… well, good .”

“Caden and Rose only had a shadow of an idea! But then you came, heard Rose’s hopes for it and set a date ! A time ! You sent out press releases ! You are selling merchandise ! So do not blame this on the children!” Valerius roared.

“But they were going to do it no matter what I did.” Marban tented his fingers together. “And they were going to do it without telling you. You did just find out about it now, correct?”

Valerius gave Marban a death stare. That was true. Caden had sputtered out this shadow of a plan to him after the phone call with Rose ended. They hadn’t really figured it out yet! They were working on it! They would have told him… eventually. If they thought it wouldn’t make him mad. And that he wouldn’t say no. Okay, so maybe they wouldn’t have told him and would have asked forgiveness afterwards. Caden had then given him puppy eyes, which had Tez melting, Esme looking indulgent and Kaila petting Caden’s head and saying, “Nice puppy Dragon. ”

Valerius had then sent Caden with the others to Esme’s rooms. Caden was not to go anywhere until after Valerius had interrogated Marban. Except it seemed that Marban was interrogating him . Or, at least, Marban was asking the questions.

“Yes, I can see that is true.” Marban nodded sagely. “So I knew that they would do this and would not tell you and, of course, make a mess .”

“So you made it a bigger mess? I’m failing to see where the thanking should be coming in,” Valerius retorted dryly as he shifted in his throne. The long black fur coat slid over his leather pants.

“On the contrary, I have made sure it will work,” Marban insisted. “Rose was so hopeful that this would bring awareness of some of the problems in the Below to the wider world. The White Dragon comes there to play with the children, being unafraid of a Swarm Shifter, and treats the people in the Below as… well, worthy as everyone else at attention.”

Valerius squeezed the top of his nose. He felt a headache coming on. This sounded exactly like Caden and Rose. Well, more like Caden than Rose. She was far more practical. But Caden seemed to be bringing out the romantic in her too.

“Seems you are not alone in softening under Caden’s influence,” Chione whispered into his ear.

“I think Caden drives us all a little insane. In a good way.” Valerius’ lips were twitching suspiciously as he said it. His ill humor even with Marban could not defy Caden’s effect on him.

But he hardened his exterior as he addressed Marban quite frostily, “You are not doing this for the people of the Below. You are doing this for yourself. That is why you have written in permanent marker your name all over this good deed Caden and Rose intended.”

Marban shrugged, but he made it seem like a kingly gesture as if he were giving more than receiving. “I merely used my resources to make that gesture so much more. Did you know they weren’t even going to tip off the news beforehand? How foolish!”

“I am certain that they intended to make the people of the Below feel special, but not to make it a press event,” Valerius replied frostily .

“Yes, but, again, how wasteful! My actions will help increase the good effects of their actions! You can only do a thing once,” Marban scoffed. “A second or third visit won’t mean as much if they wish to draw attention to the poverty and desperation of our most powerless citizenry. It will encourage others to do something about that plight.”

“You are the one that keeps the status quo in the Below as it is, Marban. It is how you secure your power. If people had options, they would not choose to follow you.” Valerius tapped the arm of his throne in irritation. “You act as if you could not change the fates of those people in the Below, as if you are an observer, when we both know that you could make a positive impact in their lives.”

The Swarm Shifter’s eyes narrowed. “I do make a positive impact, my king, but I must work within the rules. Not even I am above them.”

“What rules are you speaking of, Marban?” Chione asked, clearly interested in spite of herself.

Marban smiled again benignly. “My dear Chione, you know them well. We all know them well, though we do not name them often. The very first of these is simply this: that there must be those on top and those on the bottom.”

“And you have taken advantage of that alleged rule to be on top of those on the bottom,” Valerius replied dryly. “And you do that by keeping them desperate.”

“I have clawed my way to the top of that very modest hill, yes,” Marban admitted. “But you --you, dear King Valerius--are on top of the mountain that looms over my hill. Could I not say that you keep things as they are--the status quo--far more than I do?”

Valerius said nothing. Marban had a point.

Marban continued, “But I do not think it is within your power to fix the situation in the Below even as it is not within mine , King Valerius, because the rule holds sway. That is how it has been, is now, and always shall be.”

“That is such a grim outlook,” Chione murmured and her beautiful face was fixed in a frown .

“But you are a realist, too, Chione! You know what I say is true. In fact, I would guess that you see what I do,” Marban said.

“Which is?” she asked.

“That it is getting worse. Or rather, there used to be many more in the middle. The top is still occupied by the few, but the bottom… well, the number is growing at the bottom,” Marban pronounced.

Valerius cast a look at his Councillor. This was something they had spoken of often since Caden had come on the scene. With the exposure of Shifters, the world had changed in many ways, but perhaps the most unexpected to all of them, were how the humans were being squeezed out.

It was inevitable with the resources that Shifter had: immortal life, eternal youth, greater strength and speed, near indestructibility, wisdom of the ages, and unlimited wealth. All humanity had on its side was the ability to have children and a sense of urgency that immortality slowly stripped away.

Unless they implemented some kind of system that required a certain amount of humans in jobs, humans would be relegated to the lowest work or no work. But the political will was not there. Humans didn’t want “charity” as President Goodfellow had told him, they wanted to be “respected” for what they did bring. But what they did bring to many jobs was just not enough anymore.

Caden would argue that I am not seeing the value of human thought and other aspects of humanity, Valerius thought . Maybe he is right. But no one else is seeing it. Caden’s father would be quick to tell him how many people won’t hire human lawyers any longer when they have an option to hire a Raven Shifter. Justice. St. John would think it imprudent to have a judge who did not have several hundred years under his or her belt to decide cases. Human soldiers would be ripped apart by Werewolves before they could get a shot off. And human police officers cannot go up against Shifter criminals. It’s just too dangerous.

Marban’s words pulled him from those dark thoughts, “But Caden is the antidote to that.”

“How so?” Valerius asked, wondering what insane scheme Marban had built in his mind around the youngest of the Dragon Shifters .

Marban smiled thinly. “He gives hope.”

That word “hope” hung in the air like frost for a moment. Valerius almost laughed. Caden created delight. He caused wonder. He was a joy to be with. But hope? What did Marban mean by that? Hope seemed something that the Swarm Shifter would have little time for.

“Of course,” Chione murmured. She tapped her chin. “If you believe that becoming a Shifter means a better life--”

“It does. And even for those such as myself…” Marban looked at the swirling swarm of insects in the glass that would have terrified a farmer down to their bones. “Even for those of us not quite as lucky in terms of what type of Shifter they become, there are still advantages from simply being human. But Caden is so much more than that. He went from being--well, not the lowest--but from the middle to the top. The very, very top.”

“The people don’t know who Iolaire’s human counterpart is,” Valerius said, knowing that Caden intended to change that. “They have no idea about his background.

“Oh, but they will. How long can that be kept secret?” Marban raised a hairy eyebrow. There were longer strands of hair that stuck out from his forehead more like whiskers than eyebrows. “Too many people know. There is video evidence. It is inevitable. He will be exposed. And I do so hope you decide to manage how that information comes out.”

“Will that be a good thing or a bad thing when they know?” Chione asked.

“Oh, a good thing for the status quo,” Marban told her. “Because that thinning middle is really where the danger lies more so than the bottom. If the middle loses hope then… Well, that’s when the revolution begins.”

“You’re saying that Caden represents hope to humanity because he shows that anyone--but, more importantly, someone this middle can relate to, someone they could be--could join the highest ranks of the Shifters?” Chione carefully articulated.

“Yes, exactly.” Marban laced his fingers together behind his back and began to walk back and forth from the mirror to the open doors of the courtyard and back again. The swarm of wasps swooped and turned as he did in the mirror. “Caden means that they are not stuck . That things are not set . That there is still a chance for them under the current system to get higher, therefore--”

“There is no need to change it?” Valerius finished the sentence for him.

Marban smiled and nodded. “So Caden is the hope you see. He is the old American dream.”

“So that’s why…” Chione whispered, a flash of horror on her face.

And Valerius knew what she was thinking. That was why the Faith were doing this. They believed their only hope--their only salvation--was to become Shifters in the long run. They believed the status quo would be how things were forever so they had to go from the bottom to the top. Or from the middle to the top.

Caden is proof of that. Or what they perceive as truth.

Suddenly, Valerius did not want to sit on this throne any longer. He felt hemmed in by this massive room with its ornate magic mirror and stone walls. He wanted to fly away from all of this with Caden at his side. He didn’t want to be the cause of people blowing each other up to try and become Shifters. He didn’t want to think of the desperation that had to be growing in those hearts to think such a thing was the answer.

Before the top meant being rich. Now it means being a Shifter. Humans First could not be behind this bombing based upon that very fact. And Shifters randomly would not do this. No, no, it has to be the Faith...

Marban had paused in his pacing when Valerius rose. The Swarm Shifter was studying their faces.

“You know something,” Marban intuited. “What do you know?”

“I’m surprised that you don’t already know it yourself, but you haven’t had your ear to the ground here as you’ve been traveling,” Valerius said.

He had expected the Swarm Shifter to know of Serai’s death and the rebellion of the robots. But perhaps he hadn’t had a chance to talk to his spies in the castle yet since he was too busy arranging Caden’s appearance in the Below .

“What have I missed?” Marban was practically quivering.

“We need a drink for this,” Valerius said.

He gestured for Marti to get some wine. He needed wine. And then he stalked outside where the table where their breakfast had been laid out was. Marban and Chione followed after him. He stood at the edge of the wall looking down at the city.

“You are going to tell him?” Chione asked softly as Marti opened the red wine and poured it into three glasses.

“You do not think it wise?” Valerius asked.

Marban was giving them the illusion of privacy. He stood by the table, swirling and sipping the wine like a true connoisseur. Valerius was half tempted to ask him if had any Ambrosia on him. But now, above all, was not the time to get drunk.

“Marban has no love for the Faith,” she said.

In fact, Marban had a great hatred towards them. At least Valerius thought so based on how Marban shooed out of the Below all the do-gooders. The Faith always wanted to go into the Below and preach their religion, but Marban never allowed it for long. Valerius had always believed that it was because Marban, alone, wanted to be the one who was the giver of gifts to the Below.

“Marban, what do you know about the Faith?” Valerius asked without turning around.

Marban handed one of the glasses of wine to Chione as he answered, “I find them to be menaces.”

“Because they undermine your power?” Valerius asked as Marban offered him a glass.

“You always do go to the heart of the matter.” Marban was smiling as he said it. “Thou shalt have no god before me.”

“God?” Chione’s eyebrows rose.

Marban bowed to her. “No, no, dear lady, I am hardly a god, but what I mean is simple: I do not want divided loyalty. Religious people always put their religion above all else usually.”

“It might be good that you kept them out,” Valerius murmured before downing the entire glass of wine .

Marban cocked his head to the side as his eyes narrowed. “You definitely know something. I am intrigued and a little alarmed.”

“We think we know who is behind the bombings,” Chione answered. “Though, if we are right, I am not sure how to defend against them.”

“The Faith…” Marban guessed. His expression went from thoughtful to angry. “Of course, it would be them!”

“They know the rule, Marban. But they see the top as Shifters, not only because Shifters are dominating every profession and so much more,” Chione said, “but also because they believe Shifters are… well, gods .”

“Zealots,” Marban hissed. “That is not good.”

“No, it is not,” Valerius agreed.

Marban grabbed the bottle and refilled their glasses. Valerius hadn’t been the only one to drink theirs down.

“You cannot offer someone something greater than their religion offers,” Marban stated. “That kind of belief is very difficult to shake, especially now when Shifters are right here. No longer do you have to have faith. Proof of what you believe is all around you.”

“Exactly,” Valerius said, cradling his drink against his chest.

He had only really thought of how Caden revealing his identity would affect the young man. Not how it would affect others. Caden would be a symbol of what was possible. Would people be blowing themselves up in the hopes that they would join the top? He shut his eyes. Feeling dizzy and sick.

“I was always glad that you never were as in love with the Faith. But you’ve allowed them to continue on,” Marban stated, his lips writhing back from his teeth. He reminded Valerius of a Rat Shifter rather than a Swarm Shifter.

“Freedom of religion is something guaranteed in Valerius’ territory,” Chione responded with a little fire in her demeanor. “People who believe are not dangerous.”

“So long as they do not act on those beliefs and decide to blow people up in the hopes of creating more Shifters,” Marban retorted .

“Caden’s own mother is a member of the Faith, and I am certain that she would never blow people up,” Chione answered.

“But Serai did,” Valerius interrupted the argument. “And others will too.”

“Bringing the ninth Dragon Shifter into the world will just add to that zealotry,” Marban muttered.

“We saw another explosion at the Humans First meeting, but thankfully, there were no deaths,” Chione stated. “Is that why they haven’t done more?”

“They cannot be sure that the bomb created the ninth Dragon Shifter,” Valerius stated. “Caden hasn’t told his story. Perhaps they need confirmation before they truly get going. After all, the ninth Dragon Shifter could have simply been hiding all this time. Though why they would, I do not know.”

“Because Caden is going to tell his story,” Chione said, a look of growing horror on her face again.

“Yes,” Valerius agreed. Despair wanted to well within him.

“Should we tell him not to?” Chione asked. “Should we tell him to lie if he does?”

All of these were good questions. All of them were things he hadn’t considered. They added a level of complexity that was almost mind numbing. And all of it would be on Caden’s shoulders even though Valerius would tell him that it was not his fault what others did.

At that moment, Simi came out onto the courtyard. His eyes slid to Marban for a moment, and a flicker of disgust crossed over his handsome features, before he bowed low and said, “The Bryces are here, my king. They are demanding to see their son. And they’ve brought a boatload of lawyers with them.”