Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
I sat up with a start and winced as a dull ache reverberated through my skull. What the hell had happened? One second, I was on the street listening to Pete, the next, I was plummeting through a sinkhole, landing like a bag of rocks on the ground below. As if I weren’t already bruised enough.
I spit out a bit of dirt and wiped the back of my hand over my mouth. The space was dark, dry and dusty.
"Hello, Harmony!"
Pulse hammering, I looked around the dark room and tried to find the speaker, to no avail. Warm light suddenly flooded the space and I squinted, shielding my eyes.
"Pete? Is that you?"
The old preacher stepped into view holding a flickering lantern aloft.
"It is."
His smile stretched from ear to ear, the light giving his skin a reddish hue that made him look maniacal and I found myself scuttling backward until my shoulder blades hit a wall.
"Look, I'm not sure what's going on here, but if I could just get back with my friends..."
I'd always thought of the old man as harmless. His claims about the crown were so ludicrous, he rarely found a friendly ear for them, and he hadn't ever hurt anyone...that I knew of, anyway. But as I took a frantic look around the tiny room, I had to wonder if maybe I'd misjudged him. A man who created a trap door to kidnap women and lock them in a dark room likely wasn't up to something good.
Only one question remained.
Was he planning to keep me alive or kill me?
"I'm so sorry about the hard landing there. I made this little underground room nearly twenty years ago, and I haven't exactly been good about maintenance. There was supposed to be a cushy feather bed for you to land on, but it seems to have rotted."
He stepped closer and I pawed for the dagger Druzilla had given me, brandishing it in front of me.
"If you're doing this on Relyk's behalf, you need to know some things. Even now, he's killing nobles in Alabaster, hanging them in public for all to see. He's gone mad with power, and?—"
"Nothing's changed on that front, my child," Pete said with a chuckle. "The sorcerer's quest for power is insatiable. He's a monster and always has been."
I stared at him, baffled by his words. "You're always on about how great he is, and how the king is basically a deity on earth..."
"Oh, that." He tossed off a wave and began to pace the room in a figure eight. "I needed to wait in The Hollow until the right time, undisturbed. What better way to stay out of the crosshairs of the crown than to praise the ever-living tar out of them?"
"So you didn't mean any of it? All these years?" I demanded, forgetting to cower and letting my dagger fall to my side.
"Heavens, no."
"You've been preaching the virtues of the monarchy forever. I remember seeing you in town on that pulpit even when I was a child."
He paused in his pacing. "I’ve been here waiting. For you ," he said with a shrug. "Honestly, I can’t believe you’ve been here all along, right under my nose. You sure took your time getting those damned boots, eh?”
I still wasn’t sure what the significance of the boots was, but I did my best to answer him. “I couldn’t afford boots like this, now or then. The only reason I have them is because they were a gift.”
He pursed his lips and then nodded. “Of course, of course, it’s always about timing when it comes to things of this nature. I can only assume one of us wasn’t quite ready for the challenge ahead until now . On that note, I think it's time I introduced myself properly." He moved closer and held out a hand. "You know me by Pete, but I’m known far and wide as The Speaker . Perhaps you’ve heard of me?"
The breath left me in one fell swoop as I stared at him in stunned silence. If someone had come and slapped me with a brick, I wouldn't have been more shocked.
"You?" I shook my head slowly as I looked him up and down. " You're The Speaker?"
That couldn't be right. The Speaker hadn't been seen or heard from in decades. In fact, I’d been pretty sure he was nothing more than a legend.
He shot me a sad smile. "When Relyk and King Rudolph went on a tear to rid The Hollow of Whispers with any real power without a noble bloodline, my father left to create a safe haven for those who were persecuted for the crime of having magic while being poor, and any non-Whisper who opposed the crown."
He began to pace again, his expression dreamy, lost in thought.
"There were fifty of us to start, but over the years we grew and gained power. Once he passed, I took the mantle and would return to The Hollow to bring more Whispers and their allies into the fold. We lived as nomads and traveled in the dark of night, avoiding the mantises and Relyk alike. For a long time, we remained undetected. But as our numbers grew, it became too hard to hide. We had to settle somewhere, far enough away from Alabaster that Relyk wouldn’t even think to come find us. To the coldest, darkest place the world has ever known.”
“The Shadow Abyss,” I murmured softly as I shook my head. “But how? Surely the cold?—”
“In due course, Harmony,” he said before launching back into his tale. “Once we were able to plant roots, create a true community, and hone our powers, we grew strong. I was sure our time was coming. That we would be able to take on the sorcerer and overthrow the monarchy. But when I went back with a contingent of my strongest Whispers to recruit more believers, one last time, we were met by a small group of soldiers dressed in armor, black as night. Relyk stood behind them and despite us outnumbering them ten to one...he was smiling."
I swallowed hard, knowing what was coming next…seeing the scene unfold in my mind.
His throat worked as he continued. "They were unreal. Unnatural in their speed and strength. While I had Whispers that could match them, Relyk himself was at their side. We couldn’t prevail. We battled for a time, and I think there were moments that surprised him, but when it looked like we had a chance, he flattened ten of my people with the wave of his hand. It was then I knew I'd been a fool. I was nowhere close to being able to defeat him—I was young still. He was toying with me like a cat playing with its food."
If I'd any doubt about his story, that alone made me believe his story. I’d seen Relyk’s power, and I did not doubt it.
"There were only four of us left," Pete continued, "and I was prepared to die. But my best friend, the strongest Whisper in our collective aside from myself, wouldn’t let me. She grabbed me by the shirt, told me our people needed me, and then she hurled me into the night sky. I softened my landing with my magic, and found myself half a mile away, just yards from our hot air balloon. Relyk must have been too weakened from expending so much power to give chase, so I was able to escape and return to my people. The others with me died that day. Relyk touted his victory, told everyone in the land that he and King Rudolph had vanquished The Speaker, and that wasn’t far from the truth. I remained in hiding, mourning our losses with my people, until the prophecy. Twenty-five years ago, it came to us, and my path was clear. Victory would be ours, but it would take time and patience. So I came back to The Hollow disguised as Preacher Pete and waited for the future to unfold, for the signs to be revealed. Harmony, I waited for you ."
I shook my head slowly, still trying to digest it all.
"How, though? How do you know it's me?"
"Listen to the words, the prophecy tells me so." He cleared his throat and spoke again, his voice booming this time. "Fair of face, with boots of red, her name is peace, a wizard's dread. I’ve been watching Serenity, the cabinet-maker’s daughter, all this time. Thank the gods I didn’t kidnap her , eh?" He laughed. “She’s a bit of a horse face, but her name means peace and calm. We all call you Harm…about the opposite to peace as you could be! But I never thought much about your full name.”
I gnawed on my lower lip, letting that sink in. Relyk's painting had also depicted me in my new boots, like some sort of prophecy. But still that didn’t mean it was me.
Right?
The thing was, so much had happened in such a short time, and if I looked at it clearly, I was in the center of all of it.
And still…
"That's what you’ve got? Is that really enough to bank a whole revolution on?"
He held up a single finger and shook it at the ceiling. "Nope. There's so much more, but time is ticking. We must go before it's too late. Come with me, you and your friends, and it will all become clear." He paused and stared at me; his expression solemn. "Will you? Come with me, and fulfill your destiny? There is more to you than I think any of us realize, Harmony, you just have to…open yourself to the possibilities."
Something inside me sparked to life as he spoke, like my mind had opened up to the possibility of a whole new reality. It made me think of Gayelette. Her words came rushing back to me, as if she stood and whispered them in my ear.
Open your eyes and you will see who to trust.
Open your mind to the possibilities of the gifts you possess.
Open your ears and you will hear those who speak.
My heart beat faster at the realization that everything Pete had said might be true and right.
His smile faded as he watched me intently. “So will you come with me, Harmony?”
I was trapped in a cellar with a man I’d only known to be raving loon, and a mouthpiece for the crown to boot. But maybe I was the mad one here, because I found myself nodding.
"I don't know for sure if I'm the person in your prophecy, but I'm willing to come and find out."
"Ah, lovely!" The Speaker grinned and sat down his lantern to applaud in giddy delight. "Come, come. We must go."
I stood and tucked my dagger away before falling into step beside him.
"Are my friends still in the street?" I'd lost at least a quarter of an hour here talking to Pete, and I was worried they were out there, refusing to leave without me but exposed to Relyk and his men.
"No. They got dropped into a tunnel just outside the door. I imagine they're trying to get in this room to rescue you as we speak."
He lifted a hand to the bolt on a massive, iron door and then yanked it open. The second the door swung wide, I could hear Molly and Duncan calling my name.
"Oh thank heavens," Molly rushed toward me. Her pupils were dilated and unfocused in the dark and she blinked like an owl. "What the hell, Pete?" she demanded, she gave The Speaker a hard shove to the chest even as Duncan grabbed him by the throat.
"Okay, let's all calm down here," I said, tugging at Duncan's arm. "Everything is fine. We just needed to talk. Let him go, Duncan."
His muscles trembled beneath my hand, and I knew he didn't want to.
"Please. He’s not...he’s not who you think he is."
He released The Speaker and turned to face me. "What the hell just happened? Did he hurt you?"
I laced my fingers with his and was about to explain when The Speaker let out an excited squeak.
"Perfect. Do you see it? Just perfect!" He cleared his throat again, and boomed out what I could only assume was more of the prophecy. “‘Then prince and pauper, hand and hand. To finish the job, to heal the land.’” He clapped his hands together. “The pieces are all coming together indeed!”
Duncan shot me a questioning look and I let out a long breath as Fetch landed on one shoulder.
“Speaker, meet my friends. Everyone, this is The Speaker. And has he got a story to tell…”