Chapter 23
It wasn’t long before they sat down at Qip’s abundant table.
Aradella looked at Kaley. “We want to know what happened after we left.”
Everyone turned to Kaley in expectation.
“Why me?” she mumbled, then sighed. She knew she was the designated storyteller. She looked at Bree. “Your sister . . .” Obviously,
she didn’t want to tell whatever had happened. “I’d rather hear about your adventures.”
“What has Shay done this time?” Bree asked.
“She married Prince Nessa,” Tanek said quickly.
Kaley said, “We weren’t there, but we were told that immediately after you left, Shay had a private talk with that slimey
little weasel.”
Tanek nodded. “She told him he should tell everyone that he had broken with you.” He looked at Aradella. “Because—”
Bree said, “Because he’s always been passionately in love with my sister. She fantasized about that exact thing happening.
And it worked?”
“Yes and no,” Kaley said.
“King Aramus—” Tanek looked at Qip “—he’s Prince Nessa’s father, declared himself as the ruler of Pithan.”
“Which means that Fahir, his right hand man, the bully-with-the-magic, is now in charge,” Kaley said.
“The men?” Aradella asked. “Do they stay or go?”
Kaley smiled. “They stay.”
For a moment they were silent and smiling. It looked like something good had been achieved.
It was Bree who asked, “What about . . . uh, them?”
They knew who she meant: Olina and Urah. The smiles disappeared.
“Gone,” Tanek said. “Vanished. No one saw them leave or knows where they went.”
“I bet they used the tunnels.” Aradella’s voice was heavy with guilt.
“No matter how they left, I’m sure they took a big part of the island’s wealth.” Bree looked at Kaley. “How is my sister doing?”
“Uh—uh,” Kaley stammered. “We were told that she’s adapted to her new position very well. She seems to like having authority
and rank.”
Aradella and Bree looked at each other, their eyes lit up, and they grinned wickedly.
“She married a prince so you’ll have to curtsy to her,” Aradella said.
“I wish it were only that. I’ll have to touch my nose to the floor.”
Aradella got up, put her shoulders back, and lifted her chin.
Bree stood before her, then went to her knees. “Oh, please, dear sister, do not execute me.”
“You deserve it!” Aradella said. “You did not clean all my jewels. You left a spot on one of them. You deserve death! Guards, take her away!”
Bree stood up, her elbows bent back as though she was being pulled away. “My dear sister, what of our lifetime of love?”
“Love? I have no time for that!” Aradella said. “I am now the queen-to-be and you are nothing!”
Bree pantomimed jerking away from the guards. “You husband-stealing monster!” She put her hands around Aradella’s throat and fake squeezed.
Aradella dramatically and quite flamboyantly went into a death spiral. She landed in a heap on the floor.
Laughing, Mekos and Qip, Frank and Ian applauded, but Tanek and Kaley were staring in stunned silence.
“How . . .? When . . .?” Kaley whispered.
“They are actresses!” Mekos said proudly. “You should have seen them on that stage! The whole island cheered.”
“How do you know that?” Aradella asked.
“Well,” Mekos said slowly, “we saw you.”
Bree gasped. “All of it? Even what I did to poor Bart?”
“We were there for every second of that splendid play,” Qip said. “Tam thought you were wonderful.”
“And best of all, you conquered the Monster of Sheean.” Mekos’s eyes were full of admiration.
“We did,” Bree said, and she and Aradella looked at each other with smiles.
“But you—” Aradella began.
“Stop!” Kaley said loudly. “Start at the beginning and tell us everything. And please explain the Monster of . . . Whatever
he was.”
“Monster of Sheean.” Mekos looked at the girls.
Frank said, “Yes! Tell it all, and I remind you that I’ve had a lifetime of good storytelling.” He gave an affectionate glance
at his granddaughter, then turned back to the others. “What happened when you landed on this island?”
Mekos rolled his eyes. “These two hated each other. Tam and I were afraid they’d go into battle. We locked down our weapons.”
“Most of it happened because of the bag Zeon gave us.” Aradella was looking at her cousin.
“And your knowledge of plants,” Bree said.
“And that you know the spells.”
Ian said loudly and impatiently, “It was all about my leg! Now stop dawdling and tell the story!”
With much laughter and lots of drama, they told of the play and the fight in the arena. They told of taking the medallion,
but by silent mutual agreement, they left out what Elvin said about Urah. They didn’t want to ruin the lighthearted moment.
“What did this monster look like when he changed?” Kaley asked.
Their words tumbled over each other as they described the goat parts of him, complete with horns.
“A satyr,” Kaley said. “Unfortunately, they are known for sex and booze and truly disgusting orgies. I would imagine that’s
how he got into trouble that made someone reshape him. Could I see the things you collected?”
They looked at Qip. “I’ll get them.” He left the room.
Kaley turned to her grandfather. “How’s Grandma?”
“Busy. She’s setting up a school to teach midwifery. She figures that the whole island is going to be delivering babies at
the same time, so they better be prepared.”
Kaley gave Tanek a dreamy sort of look. Aradella looked at Mekos with the same expression.
“Sounds like a good plan.” Bree’s voice was wistful.
“I’ve been meaning to ask. What is this?” Frank had pulled a sprig of a plant out of his pocket. It was small and red, the
leaves firm.
Aradella looked at it. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen this before. Not even a picture of it.”
“Do you have a name for it?” Bree asked. “Maybe it’s in a spell.”
“It’s called Solium.” Frank held it up. “This is why the Bellis ship landed near us in Kansas. It grows there. We have no
known use for it on Earth. Rita made us tea, but it tasted awful.”
They hadn’t noticed that Qip had come back into the room. “It doesn’t work on your bodies.” His voice was quiet, almost reverent. When Frank handed him the cutting, Qip’s eyes grew brighter. “Do you have much of this?”
“I have a few bales of it in the back of the chopper. My son and I grew quite a lot of it.”
Qip looked like he might faint. He sat down. “May I have this?”
“Sure,” Frank said. “Would you tell us what it is?”
“To us, it is truly magic. It makes a person forget troubles and pain and all things bad. You become filled with love and
wisdom and knowledge.” He touched it gently with his fingertips. “Or it lets you know nothing, whichever you prefer.” His
head came up. “All things good are what it does to us.”
“Sounds like LSD,” Kaley said. “Or grass. Or whatever the doctor gives you after surgery.”
No one laughed. They just stared at the plant in Qip’s hand.
“It’s useful to know that,” Frank said.
“Very,” Tanek said in agreement.