62. Jack
SIXTY-TWO
JACK
That night, Jack’s dreams were overridden by memories of a mother he had never known. All he had to hold on to was a soothing voice that sang to him when he was a baby. Emptiness accompanied the memory. A void, like he was the hollowed-out portion of a pumpkin.
Jack woke just as tired as he had been before going to sleep. He forced the awful feeling from his mind by busying himself with the events of the day. First and foremost, he needed answers.
A knock on the door distracted him from his thoughts.
“Yes?” Jack grabbed his holster and wand. “Who is it?”
“Sir,” an unfamiliar male voice spoke from the other side of the door, “my name is Sergeant Harrison. I’m here to accompany you to breakfast.”
Jack moved toward the door. He opened it to find a huge man with bulging muscles in a New Hope uniform. Jack was sure he had seen the soldier somewhere before, but the exact memory was out of grasp.
“Good morning, sir.” The sergeant gave Jack a sharp salute. “Captain Sloan asked that I come and gather you. The palace can be a large place. Easy to get lost, if you’re not familiar with the grounds.”
“Thanks.” Jack joined the sergeant, and the two men headed down the hall. He couldn’t help noticing the sergeant massage his throat. At once, Jack remembered his first trip to the palace. The wailing man he had seen supported by his comrades through the halls.
“It’s a sparring injury. Almost healed now, but it’ll be another month or so before I’m fully recovered,” Sergeant Harrison said, clearing his throat. “That’s not exactly the truth. It’s an injury from a lesson I needed.”
“Oh, right.” Jack wanted answers, but he didn’t think now was the time. “We all need lessons to grow.”
The sergeant motioned to an open door where voices rang from within.
“Have a good breakfast, sir,” Harrison said with another crisp salute.
“Yes, I will, thanks.” Jack wasn’t sure if he should salute back or not. He gave a half nod, half raised his hand, then thought better of it and ran it through his hair.
If the sergeant noticed, he didn’t draw attention to Jack’s awkwardness.
Jack walked into the room, astonished again by what seemed a recurring experience at the palace.
At a circular table sat Sloan, Aareth, Abigail and Elizabeth, with a feast of breakfast foods laid out before them.
Along one side of the room, a buffet had been set up with servants standing behind the tables, ready to attend.
“Grab a plate.” Aareth shoveled another fork-load of meat into his mouth. “Food’s great.”
“Yeah, I will.” Jack ignored Aareth’s bloodshot eyes, writing it off to lack of sleep.
Eggs, bacon, waffles, and fruit were all piled high on Jack’s ornate plate as he took a brief moment to be thankful for the food. When he joined the group, Sloan was outlining the plan for the day.
“I spoke with the Queen this morning. She agrees that you all should stay on until all of the questions we have from Burrow Den are answered.”
“Even us?” Elizabeth skewered a strawberry with her fork as if she were spearing a fish.
“Yes,” Sloan said, reaching into her breast pocket and offering black leather pocketbooks to each member at the table. “Aareth will resume a temporary roll as a city inspector, while the three of you will serve as advisors to the Crown.”
Jack flipped his pocketbook open to see what the dark material contained. A bronze badge bearing the sigil of the city of New Hope, along with a title underneath it in clear block printing that read: Advisor to the Crown.
Jack exchanged wide-eyed looks with Abigail and Elizabeth. Aareth was the only one who didn’t seemed fazed by this turn of events.
“The servants and guards have also been notified of your stay at the palace,” Sloan said, wiping her mouth with a white napkin stitched with golden bats. “They’ve been instructed to provide you with whatever you may need during your stay.”
“Thank you.” Elizabeth grinned as she studied her badge. “I’ve never been an advisor before.”
“Yes, thank you,” Jack and Abigail repeated.
“Don’t thank me too quickly.” Sloan impaled each of them with a hard stare.
“Your titles come with expectations to obey my commands without hesitation. There’s no doubt we’re immersing ourselves into a thick web of manipulation and lies.
It’s going to be dangerous, but we’ll make it through this, if you listen to me and we work as a unit. ”
Nothing but agreement met the captain’s cold stare.
“Good.” Sloan twisted in her chair, now addressing the staff. “Thank you for your service this morning. Your presence is no longer required.”
The staff bowed their way out of the room, closing the door behind them.
“Now,” Sloan said, reaching into her cloak’s breast pocket producing the journal found in the cave laboratory, “down to business. I think the obvious leads will be to follow up with the clues we found in the journal. Aareth will visit the writer of the journal, a scientist named Aaron Jebson who works here in the city. Jack and I will stop by Livingston Industries for a long overdue visit and see what we can find.”
“Wait a minute.” Elizabeth looked to her sister for support. “What about us?”
“Elizabeth, after what you told me this morning at breakfast about—” Sloan cleared her voice in a very unlike-Sloan fashion, actually trying to be kind.
“About your possible interaction with the laboratory, I think it’s best you stay here until we can understand the repercussions of whatever they’d done to you. ”
Jack sat in his chair, surprised the girls had decided to tell Sloan everything they suspected. He admired them, especially Elizabeth, who, despite her age, was choosing honesty above all else.
“Are … are you going to do experiments on me again?” Elizabeth asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
“No, never,” Sloan reassured her with a smile. “But the worst thing we can do is to put you in more harm in the meantime. I’ll have the Queen’s personal physician come to talk with you. She’ll know for sure whether or not there’s anything to be concerned about.”
Elizabeth gave off a sigh of relief, content with the answer.
“I want to go,” Abigail said as though waking from a very serious train of thought.
“Excuse me?” Sloan asked.
“I want to help.” Abigail sat straighter in her chair as if the action solidified her resolve.
“I can’t sit here and do nothing. Not after what happened …
what I did to my father. He was caught up in this conspiracy.
I think we all know he wasn’t a good man, but he was my father.
Now, my sister is part of this. I have to do something. Please let me help.”
Jack could understand what Abigail was feeling. He’d go crazy if he was forced to sit on the sidelines and wait.
“Your lack of training—” Sloan began.
“I’m a quick learner,” Abigail interrupted before Sloan could continue. “I can be an extra pair of eyes. I can take notes. I can?—”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t be responsible for your safety.” Sloan shook her head with a heavy sigh. “I wish there was another way.”
“She can come with me.”
All eyes turned to Aareth.
“You heard me.” Aareth pushed away the empty plate in front of him. “I’ll be responsible for her. I know what it’s like to try to do the right thing. I know how hard and scary it is.”
“All right.” Sloan looked from Abigail to Aareth, shaking her head. “Be careful. If something happens, you summon the city guards. Don’t try anything dangerous.”
“Of course not.” Aareth grinned. “You know me.”