The Alberra Project

This book is dedicated to all the brave souls who fight and sometimes die for freedom. Change is not an easy road, even for the most courageous, but victory stands at the heart of commitment. I salute you all.

Solitaire Parke

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A very special thank you goes out again to Brandiwine Parke and Kimberly Gippert for all the editing and support they provided on this book. It would not have been possible without them.

INTRODUCTION

Author's Note: I had a chance meeting with an unnamed man in a little bar in the town of Bettonwood. He was decidedly inebriated and told me the story of a woman I already knew . . . at least I thought I knew. I think that's how the conversation got started in the first place. We both knew the Ariella and Tanis Theatra. Through the course of an all-day alcohol bender, the man related his earliest recollections of the Dragon Queen. I took notes, and dutifully wrote the saga delineated in this book.

Solitaire Parke

******************************************

I take no credit for this story, but I was there and watched as history unfolded in the worst location in the known universe. My name is unimportant, but I have been around since before the Provinces of Hell were established.

A lot of things have been said about the Ariella, not all of them kind, but until you've heard why she became Queen Mother, I beg of you to stave your opinion.

My friend, Tanis Theatra, urged me to write her chronicles, if for no other reason than to rectify some of the myth surrounding her life. As one would expect, it cannot be easy being the firstborn child of the Dark Lord. It has the nasty habit of tainting one's reputation before they have even had a chance to make a first impression. I passed it along to Mr. Parke instead.

It is also important to understand that her life as Katherine Pendragon was not her first incarnation. Oh no, but hopefully will explain why her decisions weren't always immediately understood by her peers.

This story picks up just before Katherine's thirteenth birthday and follows her life for the next decade.

I believe it was her destiny to become Queen of the Dragons and a champion to every form of downtrodden misfit that had ever graced her world. It went a long way to establish her belief in family values, and ultimately build the greatest army the world had ever seen.

This then is to be viewed as Part Two of the prequel to the original Dragomeir Series as told by Tanis Theatra. I attempted to leave out nothing, and hopefully brought a sense of honor to her life, considering what she has done for so many.

Her incarnations dated back further than anyone knew and had been shaping the course of history since its beginning

The Watcher

MAPS

Chapter 1

The best laid plans of dragons and girls often go astray, especially if you're too hungry to think about anything but food. That is precisely where Katherine Pendragon found herself, and try as she might; no ideas came to mind other than breakfast.

After throwing on her cleanest flight suit, she dragged a brush through her long, deep brown hair and grimaced, no time to waste on grooming. She wanted to toss food down her gullet and head immediately to the library. Somewhere in the vast number of books, had to be a reference to the Watcher. One of only two things she remembered about the night before. If it was there, she would find it, and that qualified as step one to dredging up the elusive memories now plaguing her.

She remembered her father coming home and going to the library, although nothing came to mind as far as why. Then there was the conversation with the man in the white robe. Not remembering the conversation was driving her to distraction. There was not one iota about what he looked like, apart from a piece of his smile. How could she have had a conversation and not remember anything? Moreover, how was it possible to talk to someone the night before and not have a clue as to what they looked like?

Katherine, still very much the thirteen-year-old girl, bounced down the main stairs, taking several at a time, and landed in the foyer across from the front entrance. Her intense emerald green eyes took in everything at a glance.

It seemed odd to see all new tapestries, paintings, knick-knacks, and such. Since the destruction of the plant-based items in the Palace, all new everything had been procured and brought in. The Army of the Dead had waved across the property, killing off everything derived from plants in their effort to kill the Hul Gil, an after effect she had not seen coming.

A thought skimmed across her mind, and for a second, the reason for all this was on the tip of her tongue, only to slip away. The addictive flower, Hul Gil, had something to do with her memory loss and the conversation with the Watcher.

Katherine remembered one of girls in the kitchen, Raina by name, who several days before had burned her finger on a hot pan. The utensil had clattered to the floor causing Raina to exclaim, Bombax Eam! She had no idea what the term meant but liked the way it sounded.

The frustration of being so close to reinstating the lost memories was just too much this early in the morning, and Katherine unleashed the noise of exasperation, and yelled, Bombax Eam! at the top of her lungs. Raina was right, it did make one feel better to use expletives loudly. She made a mental note to add it to her vocabulary, for those times when you just needed to unload.

Turning right took her into the main dining area, and another right would see her through to the kitchen. Long before arriving, even a blind person could've followed their nose to the right spot. Experimentally closing her eyes for a few seconds, the smell of cooking was stronger the closer she got.

Wheat cakes cooking in a pan wafted down the hall, and Katherine's stomach made gurgling noises as she approached. The smell could only be engineered by the chief cook and head mistress of the Palace, Mira. Her plump form was always a joy for Katherine, and one of the few who truly held the young girl’s best interests in mind.

Mira came into view and Katherine smiled, knowing that breakfast would be offered in two shakes of a dragon's tail.

Mira turned, a plate ready in her hands, and placed it on the kitchen's center table.

Exxa told me you were on your way. Wheat cakes are the only kind of magic that'll fill you up, and if that wasn't enough, Micah came in this morning with real, honest to goodness Jinja Juice. I haven't seen that stuff in years. Squeezed from the Jinja root, a few spices added, and poof the greatest drink ever. Give it a try. It tastes like it would lay you down unconscious, but it does exactly the opposite. Give it about ten minutes, and you'd swear you could run from here to Hades and back. Something to do with the Denizen make-up, I reckon, but who cares since the taste is like a little slice of perfection.

Katherine had never heard of Jinja Juice, but accepted the glass, took a sip, and felt the heat all the way down to her stomach. There's no comparison with Jinja to anything else, and the flavor defies explanation. Katherine peered round the kitchen for where the supply was and made a mental note to come back later for more.

With breakfast finished, Katherine quickly made her way to the main library and went inside. Other than a haunting memory of what might've happened here, she was alone. The whispering of her boots created a small echo that followed her to the first wall of books. She sensed something wrong, but what it was, eluded her until she noticed the shield missing. Bahn Fahr, the Leader of the Army of the Dead, had etched a message onto the shield explaining why he had left the books intact, and yet destroyed everything else. The shield had said:

Books are printed knowledge. Knowledge leads to power. Power leads to freedom. Freedom leads to peace. Peace leads to prosperity. Prosperity leads to wisdom. Wisdom leads to happiness. We saved the books. Be happy.

Taking time to perform a once-over through the library, revealed nothing of its location. As suspicious as that seemed, she would rather it not be out where her father could find it. It would have to be located and placed in a secure location. Katherine felt a bit of angst, just one more thing gone from her memory.

Thanks to the help of the demon troops for creating a system for categorizing genres, and the Army of the Dead for not destroying the books, Katherine went to work searching for any title that might lead to the Watcher.

Astonishingly enough, two hours later, Katherine stumbled across a manuscript entitled, The Watcher Clan. She took it to one of the new reading tables, sat down, and made herself comfortable.

The book indeed gave reference to the entity known as the Watcher, and the Clan that followed his mandates concerning all things righteous and good. Their main function was to watch over the other clans, in an ongoing effort to monitor respectable and questionable behavior. Apparently reputable behavior was ignored, and injurious behavior was warned a total of three times. After the third time, if the person or persons hadn't amended their ways, they were then eliminated, after an exhausting trial to prove the crimes supposedly committed.

Katherine had never heard of the clans and wondered if they were connected to the Altars and the energy taught by the travelers. She'd always thought there was something missing in the hierarchy as portrayed by the local priests. She had been taught nothing about the clans, but it would certainly explain a lot about gaps in the system.

Her power came from the Altar of Dragonis, or the force known as Death. It was but one of thirteen Altars/forces and manifested itself on her thirteenth birthday. That alone was somewhat of a conundrum. She had trained with Hypnos for a full year in the Caves of Ice and then came back to the Provinces to find out she'd only been gone about an hour. She'd been twelve when entering the caves, and the same age to everyone upon her return. But the year inside the caves, had seen her powers awaken due to the amount of time spent with Hypnos. Hence the conundrum. A scant few knew about this anomaly, and it had been kept secret until just recently, but Katherine's level of recall didn't include the Dark Lord learning the secret. Just as well, because his didn't either.

She made note of page thirty-three, which gave a list of the existing clans found across the Provinces.

1. Watchers

2. Priests

3. Dragos

4. Harpers

5. Warriors

6. Dancers

7. Scouts

8. Traditionalists

9. Thaumaturgists

Katherine found an empty binder in her father's desk and filled it with blank pages, determined to ferret out every pertinent fact about either the Watcher or the clans in general. It was time to write her own Grimoire about the Altars, energy-forces, and the clans. At the very least, she would have a type of road map to follow in her quest for answers.

The only one that felt familiar was the Priest Clan, but even they had never presented themselves to her as a clan. The Temple in Capitol City used to have dozens of priests, and openly recruited for neophytes to join as apprentices during the time frame of her earlier years. They had never once called her an apprentice, and they came to the Palace to supposedly train her until the age when she would become the Ariella.

All the clans were populated by Denizens, and according to the book, passed down from mother to daughter or father to son.

The text related the terms of the prophecy where the Chosen one, or the Ariella, was to be born on a day that heralded a cataclysmic event, and Katherine had been born on the Day of the Burning Sky.

She had heard the story a thousand times, how her father had tried to make it flood, but instead, set the sky on fire, a blaze that would never stop. It changed the Provinces indelibly, rearranging the eco-system and killing off an untold number of animals and plants.

Thousands of Denizens had starved to death as a result, and the temperature on the Provinces had risen to dangerous levels in more than one area over the land mass.

The Ariella's job was to liberate the Denizen people, but through the years, they had apparently attempted to kill her on more than one occasion. This caused Katherine to question herself, her father, and the Denizen people, not knowing who to trust. It did, however, force her to mature at an alarming rate, all but ruining her childhood.

Today, she would have to assume her father's memory was in the same shape as her own and wing it once the two of them got together. The Dark Lord would still want to know who was responsible for the destruction around the Palace's compound, and as much as she didn't want him to think it, she was a prime suspect in the carnage.

*************

The Dark Lord awoke with a start, unable to determine where he was. He remembered coming home from Hades, and then it was just a blur. As the room came into focus, it coalesced into his bedroom, and he struggled with how he got there. He recalled getting to the Palace, and then . . . nothing. No recollection of talking with anyone, and a vague sense of terror was all he had. As he looked down, he realized he had slept in his clothes on top of the bed linen. It was not an action he was known for, and an immediate flag that something was wrong. The Dark Lord had not gone to the infirmary like he'd planned, and now there was ichor all over the bed, having saturated his clothes and beyond. A sickly green color decorated the sheets, and he felt drained of energy.

A quick change of clothes, after replacing his bandages, and he was ready to go see Cystic, the Dark Lord's chief physician. Perhaps he would be able to shed some light on the last twenty-four hours.

He noticed the bedroom was different than when he'd left it but wasn't surprised by the change. He'd already gotten used to the idea of losing everything that meant more than a passing possession. At least his metal circles with teeth were still there. He'd found them in the Province known as Infernus, on a trip there many years ago. Their use was a mystery, but they were made from a metal that didn't exist on the Provinces.

One last glance around the room, and the Dark Lord made his way out into the upstairs hall.

*************

The word technology came up several times in the manuscript, and Katherine was obsessed to know what it meant. It was associated with the clan known as the Thaumaturgists and seemed very vague as to its meaning. The clan, in-toto, was withdrawn and introspective, having no known headquarters or meeting places. They were said to have the ability to manipulate the forces onto any device that had moving parts. She wondered why anyone would want to do that, and what purpose they might give to such a device. The book gave no examples, and Katherine found herself getting irritated by the lack of description. What kind of devices were they referring to?

The book also went on to say that outsourcing was considered taboo but didn't say what the term meant or how to perform it. It seemed to her that the reference was aimed at the Thaumaturgists but gave a very incomplete dissertation to what they might be trying to accomplish when presented with that method. Hypnos had not given her any background on these people, so she was confused as to why anyone would source their power out to something else to get a device to function at what it was already designed to do. It made no sense, and her determination to find out as much as she could regarding the illogical Thaumaturgists and their weird ways grew stronger with every breath.

She elected to take the book upstairs and try to finish the rest. It wouldn't pay to get caught researching the Watcher in her father's library. It seemed to her it would be easier to hide the manuscript under a pillow in case the Dark Lord came knocking. She stacked the Grimoire on top of the book and went quietly to the library's entrance. Katherine listened carefully through the door, but heard nothing, and then turned the handle to peek outside. The coast was clear, and she went as quickly as possible, not slowing down until her bedroom door was closed.

There was a built-in bench that covered the entire width of the bedroom window, padded with large pillows at either end. She made herself comfortable, utilizing the light provided by the Burning Sky, and propped the book up on her lap. The Grimoire was placed out in front, along with a quill and a bottle of ink.

As delineated by the book, the Watchers were a secret organization, and acted accordingly. The other clans knew of its existence, but no one knew who represented it. It could be anyone. If the other Clans operated within their known parameters, the Watchers allowed them a status quo, effectively doing nothing. If they stepped outside of those parameters, the outcome would be swift and final.

The Thaumaturgists, however, considered themselves above the law, and rejected the idea of being monitored by the Watchers. As a result, the entire Watcher Clan spent an inordinate amount of time attempting to manage the six variations of control, who, what, why, where, when, and how, toward one clan more than the others.

Katherine stared out the window for a moment, trying to understand why either one of the two clans would waste so much time regarding the other. It seemed self-defeating to her and caused both clans to act in such a way that it kept the situation endlessly perpetuating itself with no real purpose. It also tweaked her curiosity almost as much as the Watcher himself.

It was possible for this scenario to be a thing of the past, too. The manuscript was very old, and she had never once run into either one, until recently. One person doesn't corroborate the ideals of both clans, or a silent war between them. She also wondered briefly if her father had read this book. It had been in his library, and it would make sense for him to know who and what was around him always.

She quietly lamented the lack of information about the other clans. It seemed the Watchers only watched the Thaumaturgists, letting the rest of the community function within a loose set of guidelines that no one paid much attention to.

It seemed logical to assume the Warriors were the Denizens actively fighting the troops of the Dark Lord, and the Priests were the theologically based clergy in Capitol City, but alas, nothing other than pure speculation to support the thought.

Katherine finally finished the entire manuscript and put the pieces together to summarize what the Watcher Clan was primarily established to do. The long and short of their duties was to overlord the other clans without them realizing it was being done. The reasoning behind this seeming anomaly was to determine who was using the darker side of the Altars and instruct how to stay away from them. Katherine was shocked to read that the Altars/Forces were dual sided, and either or both could be brought to bear by any traveler/practitioner regardless of their orientation to good and evil.

Now there were two things to track down in her quest for knowledge, the Watcher, and a functioning Thaumaturgist. If they were as integrally tied as she thought, then either one might lead to the other. There was just one more question, how to get started?

The newly installed sundial by the front steps of the Palace showed it was almost time for the evening meal. She was amazed so many hours had elapsed during her reading. After hiding the book under one of the pillows by the window, she went downstairs to reconnoiter.

Katherine encountered no one until she made it to the kitchen, where she found every one of the house staff loading their plates for dinner. Mira told her, somewhat conspiratorially,

"The Dark Lord came through roughly an hour earlier, and said he was going to see Cystic. He said he wasn't feeling agreeable enough to put up with anyone and wanted to be left alone.

You could tell the man was injured when he got home yesterday but acted as if he wasn't. Must've been bad this time though, you could see it in his eyes. It makes him angry and mean. He's better off in the infirmary where he won't hurt anybody, or himself. Trust me; you don't want to go over there. Nothing useful will come of it."

Mira had been enlisted into the household years before to help raise Katherine, and basically ran the place on a day to day basis. She quickly became like a mother to the Dark Lord's daughter and treated her with the love absent from her father. She was not a beautiful woman, but she was energetic, loving, and had the kind of personality that was immediately infectious to everyone around her. She was stocky, standing five feet nine inches, with exceptionally frizzy hair that looked out of control no matter what time of day, or what she was doing.

Sit at the table, and I'll dip you up some stew. It's especially pleasing tonight. Made from a very fat bubalos with a terrible attitude. I warned that rascal to behave himself, but he does make for delicious stew, and there's fresh rolls.

Mira busied herself getting Katherine's food, and a half dozen or so other things for the ladies present, making it all seem casual and easy. It was like this more nights than not, while her father had been away. Sadly, it wouldn't last much longer, and the girls in the kitchen were making the most of the time at hand.

They talked for a long time, mostly about Denizen boys, and Katherine spent too much of it blushing and feeling awkward. She secretly liked the subject matter but couldn't keep the extra color off her face. Mira acted somewhat put off by it, but never once made them switch subjects. Katherine believed she liked the conversation, even though she would never admit it.

They were visited several times by Terek and Micah, but as soon as they heard what the girls were talking about, they grabbed something to eat and left hurriedly. At one point, Mira asked Terek if he would like to sit down and give his opinion over a particular issue at hand. Katherine's favorite Class Nine Demon looked embarrassed and refolded his wings, straightening to his full height at over seven feet.

Denizen women know nothing about the male psyche, and I know considerably less than they do. I bid you all a good night.

Micah, hot on his heels as he left, projected back over his shoulder.

Gross!

The girls managed to remain silent until the two were gone, and then burst into laughter.

Katherine again marveled at how much different the atmosphere was in the Palace when her father wasn't there. The energy was up- beat and positive, the mood light and casual. There were so many things she wished for, but this feeling they all shared was at the top of her list.

The finer things in life are what we all live for, but the problem is always the same . . . they end. This one was to be no different, and the ending came when the kitchen was clean. The chores upstairs weren't going to do themselves. Of course, they never do.

Katherine said goodnight to everyone and started to pad off to her bedroom, after telling the girls not to help her once she was there. They were dubious about it, but acquiesced, after she put her foot down. They curtsied, and Katherine left the room in a hurry for fear they'd change their minds.

The Palace was quiet and still, an unusual state for the gargantuan estate, where noise and stress ran hand in hand.

It felt eerie to Katherine, like a calm before a storm, and she took the feeling with her all the way to her room. The door opened with a whisper, and she saw Micah sitting on her bed.

What're you doing in here, and who said you could come in while I'm away?

Micah smiled, and closed the book he was reading.

You did, when you told me I could come in here any time I needed to. Where'd you get the book?

Katherine realized what he was reading and felt a small pang of terror. No one was supposed to know about the Watcher. Theoretically, it wasn't common knowledge. She trusted Micah, but the fewer who knew about it, the better.

From the library. I thought I'd read about the clans, and the book you're holding talks about a couple of them.

Micah nodded.

Yeah, I gathered that. Never heard of them, and I don't think too many people have either, like maybe they don't really exist. Did you find it in the section labeled, books that aren't true? Come on Katherine, if these people were out there, don't you think somebody would've heard something?

Katherine folded her arms and felt a wave of impatience for her friend.

I see what you're saying, but what if it is true? If they don't say anything, they could be standing right next to you, and you'd never know. Come on, Micah, think about it logically. With everything you've seen, and you have a tough time believing in the people who supposedly control all of it? I thought I was naive.

Micah puffed up. He didn't like looking less in her eyes.

I'm not naive. Okay, some of it might be true, but the Thaumaturgists? Really? If those guys existed, we'd all be up the Styx, without a paddle. Surely, they'd stick out like a sore talon. I don't want it to be true. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps.

Katherine realized she'd just upset the wheat cart and felt badly for it.

I'd get the creeps if they weren't there, because then who'd control all that stuff? I'm glad they're there. They're just quiet about it, that's all, and I want to know who they are. I don't want to change anything, I just want to know.

Micah didn't look all that resigned but nodded his head.

Well then, I'm glad I'm not in your boots, because you always seem to get what you want. Maybe what you find won't be the same as what you thought. That's all I'm saying. But it also means there's a trip coming up to Infernus, because the book says the Thaumaturgists go there to collect stuff.

Katherine grinned, but didn't deny it.

Probably not until after the Day of the Burning Sky. This is supposed to be the big one, where the Ariella hits the magic age of thirteen and liberates the Denizen people. They'll probably try to kill me again. I think I'd rather eat glass.

Micah nodded his head vigorously and chuckled.

Right? I've got a theory about that. I don't think they've ever tried to kill you, not that cut and dry, anyway. I think your father put them up to it, you know, paid them, after starving them. At least one of those times, I think they were after him, not you. Think about it. He treats them like trash, so what makes his daughter exempt? What he wants is for them to treat you like trash. It keeps the loyalty at home and paints them out to be the bad guys. All the while, it's been him the whole time. The result, is the Ariella does what Daddy tells her to, because the Denizens are mean and out to get her. It all fits.

Katherine wanted to reject the idea off handedly, but as she looked back on the number of times her life had been endangered, she wasn't sure if that was a clever idea. What if he was right? On the other hand, if her father paid them to attack her by worsening their poverty to coerce the situation, then virtually nobody was on her side. Everybody was dangerous to her in some way, if they could be bought and sold so easily.

Okay, I see your point. My father is anything but a decent parental figure, but that's depressing. Doesn't anybody over the age of twelve love me? Am I such a horrible person that everybody wants me dead?

Micah laid back on the bed pillows and put his hands behind his head.

Mira and Terek are over the age of twelve and I'm pretty sure they love you. And you've always got me.

Chapter 2

The Dark Lord woke up with a massive headache and glared at Cystic who was standing at the foot of the hospital bed.

Why do I feel worse today, than yesterday? Losing your skills, old demon?

Cystic smiled, knowing his patient didn't mean to be a pain in the backside; he just WAS a pain in the backside. The Dark Lord was grumpy by nature and felt the world was out to get him. Thanks to his actions in public, it probably was, but telling him that wasn't the best idea at the moment.

I had to set some of the bones that got broken as the bolts slammed into your body. It's a wonder you didn't die from them. You also lost a lot of ichor, which takes time to recover from. Give it time, and maybe a month from now you'll be able to walk out of here, but not today. Or, if you can get up and beat me to a pulp, you can leave now. Your choice. No? Okay then, let's think about getting some food into your system. I select which foods, and no spirits of any kind.

The Dark Lord attempted to throw a glass at Cystic. It was directly beside him, but no matter how hard he tried, the glass was just out of his range of movement without pain. Cystic laughed.

When you're feeling better, you can throw the whole bed at me if you like. For now, just lay there and try to look lordly. That, should be enough work for you today, and who knows what you'll be able to do tomorrow.

Cystic turned and left the room, bellowing for a nurse to bring the Dark Lord a bed pan. He was enjoying this even more than anticipated. Some days, it's the little things in life that mean the most. The Dark Lord reached for the glass again, with the same results, and cursed under his breath.

*************

Katherine opened her eyes and wondered why it was dark in her room. In the dimness, she determined the upstairs girls had closed the curtains to help her sleep. After her morning constitutionals, she stumbled over to the window and drew the curtains back. Just another day in Gehenna, hot, oppressive, and still under the Burning Sky.

A clean flight suit had been brought as she slept, and all the necessary garments that typically would be worn with it. They didn't change colors after having rubbed her eyes, and she giggled at the thought.

Noises were coming from out in the hall, so she dressed as quickly as she could to explore what the commotion was about. Just as she was reaching for the door, it flew open at the hands of Raina, one of the house staff.

Malachai is back, and he asked about you. I told him that . . . lord knows that doesn't matter, Malachai is back.

Katherine grabbed hold of Raina's shoulders before she could run off and spun her around.

Raina, where is Malachai?

Outside, unloading his horse, or that's where he was.

Katherine ran down the stairs and rocketed through the foyer to the front entrance. The door was standing open, and she flew down the front steps. Malachai turned at the sound of her approach and saw her wink as she grinned.

Where have you been? I got home, and you weren't here. The Dark Lord got you running errands?

Malachai put on a mock level of indignation.

Well, you were off doing what little girls do when they're not properly chaperoned, and I had official business to conduct. It took a bit longer to get home than I originally thought. Am I to understand that you missed me? I'm touched.

There were enough ears listening to cover the not so obvious inconsistencies, and since no one was supposed to know that Malachai and Katherine had spent time together, it set the stage. During Katherine's last outing, her guard, Malachai was instructed to watch, but not engage. She had gotten into trouble, and was ultimately saved by her guardian, but if the Dark Lord found out, she wouldn't be allowed to leave again by herself. Malachai was attempting to cover for her by making it look like they hadn't seen each other in a while. This news would most certainly be heard by the Dark Lord in a short amount of time, and summarily dismissed.

I miss my weapons lessons, and the need to be proficient outweighs any such trivial emotions. Of course, I missed you! I know you'll have to see my father, and then get some much-needed rest, but after that, maybe we can get back on schedule, yes?

Malachai groaned and feigned exhaustion, but his act failed when he began to laugh.

Of course, Little Queen, it would be an honor.

Katherine ran over and gave the big demon a hug, and then dashed back into the Palace.

The smells of the kitchen had wafted all the way to the foyer, and her stomach was growling in response. A quick breakfast, and then find Micah. She had a task for her friend that was critical to the day’s success, and only he could perform it.

While she was slamming down pancakes, Micah sauntered into the room and sat down next to her, eyeing the delicacies. Calmly, but assuredly, he took the fork from her hand and stabbed a large piece. Transferring it to his mouth was done excruciatingly slow, with a generous amount of theatrical pleasure, and ending with a quick jaunt over to Mira.

The pancakes are a triumph!

He turned back to Katherine and pointed up with his thumb.

Meet me in my bedroom when you're done.

Mira giggled at the boy's antics, shook her head, and went back to work. Katherine nodded and impaled an even larger piece than his and jammed it into her mouth. She knew her friend was up to something, and if it was half as precarious as he made it look, she was going to love it.

Katherine's father was the talk of the Palace. He was going to be in the infirmary for a rather extended period, and the staff was going to take advantage of his absence.

The