Chapter 38 #2
Saul sank into a seat at the table. “No,” he complained.
“I’m having a Kalevar Kaine crisis. Do you have any idea the kind of hell I’ve been through since your little stunt at the Watch Post?
I’ve got members of the Conclave breathing down my neck at all hours.
Citizens, too. I can’t even come within a block of the Conclave’s house of operations without being harassed. ”
“Because of me?”
“Yes, because of you,” Saul bit back, not appreciating Kal’s levity.
“Lucien is heading an insurrection. The first few days following the trial, he called for an arrest. The others wavered. Now? He’s got everyone but Beulah convinced that you should face public punishment and the girl should be executed.
” Saul dragged a hand down his haggard face, stretching the dark circles.
“Lucien has half a dozen rumors spreading through Meress’s taverns that spin wild conspiracies as to Kitty’s identity.
Half the population thinks she’s an Asterosian spy who’s feeding information to the crown.
Fearmongering is a living creature within our borders.
I said I’m handling it, but words only carry weight when action follows. ”
“She’s not a spy, Saul,” Kal said, taking the chair across from him. “She’s not dangerous to anyone.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Saul sighed. “The only reason Lucien hasn’t tried to forcibly drag you from your house is because he didn’t have the backing, and he knows he’s no match for you. Now he has the backing.”
Kal scoffed, not the least bit worried. Lucien was a bug. “He can try.”
“You should know that your friend, Harless, has been a vocal advocate for your appropriation.”
Rask. Kal inwardly groaned, mentally kicking himself for allowing that end to remain loose and chafing. He knew he’d have to face his friend, to explain the situation and find some way to mend the rift between them. Might as well be today. “I’ll talk to him.”
Saul shook his head. “He left three days ago.”
Unease pitted Kal’s stomach. “Where?”
“He didn’t say. But he was packed for a trek, Kal. He left Stillwater heading west.”
West. The damn fool. Rask was going to Asteros.
To Railah. There was nothing Kal could do.
Rask would reach the city before Kal could get to him.
Even if he found him before then, there’d be no changing Rask’s course.
He needed to speak with Santhe to see if she had a reliable way to get a warning to Cinah.
But first, Kal needed to handle shit here. “Rask is out of my hands, but Lucien can be dealt with.”
Saul’s voice grew stern. “Do not underestimate him, Kalevar. He’s too crafty. Lucien won’t come for you directly. He’ll have a mob do his dirty work. You’re a force, Kal. No one denies that. But you’re one man. Even you’d be hard pressed to manage fifty pissed off males calling for a reckoning.”
Kal sneered. “Lucien wouldn’t dare. Even backed by a mob. He’s still a member of Meress’s Conclave. He’s still bound by her laws.”
“You mean the same laws that you blatantly disregarded when you interfered in Kitty’s trial? Those laws?”
“I am a citizen. Not a member,” Kal argued, overlooking Saul’s sarcastic tone. “Even if Lucien managed to arrest me, he couldn’t pass judgment without unanimous consent from the rest of the Conclave. If he tried, he would face banishment.”
“I’m not sure that he cares,” Saul ventured.
“He cares.” Kal was sure of it. “Lucien’s entire identity is the Conclave.
He won’t risk damaging his reputation.” Rarely did men who rose from the mud of society make decisions that might send them back.
Lucien had climbed too high. He may have a palate for power, but he wouldn’t risk returning his knees to the dirt.
“So, how do we handle this?” Saul asked.
“You cannot evade accountability forever.” He spread a hand over the scroll-covered table.
“I’ve been looking over every law we’ve ever penned, trying to find an exception, some way out of this quagmire you’ve plunged us into, and I don’t see a way out.
Someone needs to face charges, Kal. The people must be pacified. ”
Kal leaned back in his chair, hanging one arm over the headrest. “So let Lucien arrest me. Slap me with a fine.”
Saul’s expression grew cautious. “He only needs a majority to call for an arrest, which he has. But there must be a unanimous vote for the charge. The man wants blood; he’ll never agree to a fine.”
Kal glowered. “And you and Beulah won’t permit the bloodletting.
I’d be stuck in a cell for weeks while the Conclave deliberates.
” Leaving Kitty with only Adder for protection.
Kal trusted his closest friend with his life.
Devereux Santaire was capable and cunning.
But that wasn’t good enough. When it came to her, no one was.
“Lucien will find a way to exploit my confinement.”
“Perhaps covertly, but y-ye—” Saul’s features twisted as a coughing fit gripped him.
Kal pounded him on the back. “Forgive me,” he said once recovered.
“But yes, I think you’re right.” Saul cleared his throat again.
“Even if we did agree on a suitable punishment, you’re protected under Meress’s Honorable Contribution Clause.
You’ve done enough good here that you can’t be punished beyond a certain degree.
Your loyalty to our cause is irrefutable.
Lucien knows this. He might delight in your arrest, but ultimately, he isn’t after you. ”
Kal could hear the blood pounding in his ears. “He wants Kitty.”
Saul nodded, stifling another cough.
“So find a clause that protects her, Saul. There’s got to be something for an asylum seeker or a victim of Asterosian oppression. The only crime she committed was not having a damned code.”
It seemed such a small thing to be taken so fucking seriously.
“I’m trying, Kal. How do you think I’ve been holding them off for this long? But it’s a double-edged sword. The longer I stall, the more violently these tales spread. A poisonous rumor is harder to kill than a physical foe. Foes die. Poison lingers.”
Kal couldn’t refute that. But it didn’t solve their issue. If he had things his way, he’d just kill Lucien and be done with it.
“She’d have to demonstrate an act of extraordinary service to Meress to negate her current charges and even have a prayer of turning the public’s opinion,” Saul continued.
“Such as?”
“Single-handedly saving the city from an Asterosian assault?” Saul rubbed his copper-brown eyes. “Saving a Conclave member’s life? I don’t know. It’s a dead end.”
Kal suppressed a growl of frustration. He didn’t need dead ends. He needed solutions.
“It might help if…” Saul hesitated, and Kal looked at him sharply. “If you could explain Kitty’s deception. If you knew why she lied.”
“I know why.”
Saul’s weary eyes widened. “Then why? Who is she?”
Kal shoved to his feet. Hers was not a secret he was willing to share.
Not beyond his closest circle. He liked Saul.
Believed him to be a good man. But this man would always put Meress first. Felíne was not safe with him.
“Find another way, Saul,” Kal said, heading for the door.
“Find a way to ensure her safety, or I will handle Lucien myself.”