Queen of Empire: A fantasy romance (The Relic Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  'It is with deep regret that I have to inform you that Christiana, ruler on earth for Tatiana, Goddess of the Body, has moved on from this world.' The crowd gasped. 'She passed peacefully in her sleep several nights ago.

  'We, the Descendants, have been making preparations for her funeral, which will take place here in Empire, in the Temple of the Body. Her funeral will take place one week from today.' Another pause, the crowd silent.

  'Peter, Descendant of Christiana, will succeed to the throne to rule on earth for Tatiana, Goddess of the Body. There will be a joint Chase, Crowning, and ball for the succession of Alexander, Descendant of Theon, and Peter, Descendant of Christiana.

  'Christiana was a vibrant, skillful leader of the Temple of the Body. In her honor, we expect a competitive Chase and a lively ball. I, Austin, ruling Descendant of the Temple of the Mind, understand that this will be a difficult time. We must, however, not only mourn the loss of one great leader, but celebrate the rise of two new ones. I would urge everyone, regardless of your temple allegiance, to embrace the ethos that Christiana would have wanted and celebrate our new beginning. Christiana has left us to join the Gods, and may the Gods look down favorably upon us all.'

  That was it. To the point, perfunctory, nothing superfluous to the very base of what was required from him. Nothing that might help reassure the people that there was still hope in the world. No mention of the prophecy, or the broken female line. No declaration that, of course, the Descendants were still battling on behalf of the people, to free them from the energy instability of the Gods. Nothing.

  In perfect unison with the close of Austin's speech, every light on every dashboard flashed an angry red. Bass yanked off his headset, threw it violently on his chair, then stormed out towards the roof.

  'Well I think this is an, I told you so moment, don't you?' said Patrick.

  It amazed Anita how Patrick could be crass, even in the most dire of circumstances. Anita rolled her eyes and followed Bass up to the roof. He was sitting on a pipe, staring out over Empire. She walked slowly towards him, pausing for a moment, inches away, looking down into his cloudy eyes.

  She stepped into his space and wrapped her arms around him, his head against her torso as she held him tight. He relaxed into her and she stroked his hair, a hand running down his back, trying to sooth the ridges she found there. The tension was ebbing from Bass' energy when he suddenly stood, his hands on her hips. Upright, his hard, strong body inches from hers, he pulled her towards him, hands moving to envelop her shoulders, drawing her into him.

  Anita responded without thinking, wrapping her long, lithe arms around his muscular form, lowering her head into the crook of his neck. She wanted to take away his pain. They stood there for minutes, Bass caressing her back, Anita not sure how this had happened, but his energy wasn't soaring in the way it might have.

  They pulled apart, Bass avoiding her eyes, wordlessly moving to the edge of the roof and sitting, legs dangling over the side, staring out towards the temples.

  'At least the view's still good,' said Anita, immediately wishing she hadn't; she really needed to stop spending time with Patrick.

  Bass didn't say a word, and Anita dropped down beside him. They sat in silence for an age before he finally broke it.

  'My family has run this observatory for five generations,' he started, quietly, guardedly. 'You would think they might have learned to listen to us by now.'

  Anita sought words to respond, but found she didn't have any, so she let the silence stretch, waiting for Bass to continue.

  'My father told them what would happen if they came out with it like that, but Austin wouldn't listen, and he's the only Descendant with any legitimate power right now.'

  Bass paused again, struggling. Anita felt useless, desperately wanting to help, but with no idea how.

  'We told him we would see this. A sudden, dangerous drop, and then, who knows what? But it's unlikely to bounce back like it did with Philip. People think it's over. They think we'll never be free from the Gods, that the energy will be unstable forever. We've never seen anything like this, and we still don't really understand how energy works; anything could happen.' He hesitated, Anita sensing that they were about to get to the heart of Bass' rambling. 'Tens of thousands could die, and we failed to stop it.'

  The words hit Anita like a train, and her reaction was immediate. 'What?' she said, with such force it surprised even her.

  Bass exhaled sharply and looked away.

  Anita shuffled around so she could see more of his face, placing a hand on his arm. 'You can't be serious?' she said gently. 'You did everything you could. You stood up to Austin, who doesn't sound like a bundle of joy, and we can still find a way to bring the energy back up.'

  'How are we going to do that?' said Bass. 'All gather round and politely ask the Gods if they would mind very much leaving us alone, so we can live happily ever after?'

  Anita was more than a little shocked. She had never seen Bass like this, and he had certainly never spoken to her like that. She dropped her hand and turned back to face Empire, until finally, a logical argument popped into her head. 'The energy…it didn't start to fall until the announcement?'

  'It exactly coincided with the speech. You saw the dashboards,' he said, pithily, taking a deep, loud breath that said he was humoring her, but she had better get to the point soon.

  'But Christiana died several days ago,' she said. 'Austin said so himself. In which case, it wasn't Christiana's actual death that sent the energy plummeting, but peoples' reaction to the news.' She grabbed his arm in excitement. 'Which means there's at least a chance we could find a way to bring the energy levels back up. If we could find a way to make people believe that we can still get rid of the Gods, then we might be able to head off disaster.'

  Bass wasn't biting. 'Come on Bass, you know I'm right. As you've suspected for some time, it's not the actual events that cause energy fluctuations, but peoples' emotional responses. It's people that control the energy, so there's still a chance we can turn this around.'

  'Even if you're right, you think Austin's going to let us interfere? He's dead against any kind of intervention. He thinks we just need to accept the inevitable and get on with our lives.'

  'I didn't say it would be easy,' Anita replied, her tone reflecting her irritation at Bass' uncharacteristic negativity, 'but I'm yet to find a challenge that I want to turn down, and I'm afraid this one is not going to be the first. So, you can either help me, which would make my life a lot easier, seeing as you're the energy expert, or you can wallow in your depression and help to pull the energy down further.'

  Bass inhaled again, this time resigned; he knew she was right. 'Alright. Count me in,' he said, rolling his eyes.

  Anita threw him a victor's smile.

  'You can be really annoying sometimes, you know,' he said, fighting the upward turn of his lips.

  'Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment,' she grinned.

  * * * * *

  Bass sat outside the chamber in the center of the temples. He was staring into the mid-distance, thinking about what he was going to say to the Grand Council. His father came out and put a heavy hand on his shoulder.

  'We're ready for you,' said Elistair, Bass' mid-height, grey-haired father, who looked almost lanky next to Bass, even though his shoulders were broad. 'Are you ready?' His kind, perceptive eyes searched Bass'.

  'As I'll ever be,' Bass replied, giving his father a knowing look.

  Bass and Elistair walked into the chamber, and every pair of eyes turned to look at them. Bass ignored every single one. He'd always been fascinated by the layout of this hexagonal room, so he let that occupy his mind instead.

  The councilors from the three temples sat along three of the walls, with the Descendant for each temple sitting in the middle of their wall of councilors. On the floor, in the middle of the room, was a circle that could not be covered. No one was even allowed to walk over it, the area directly above whatever sacred thing lay below
the temples' points.

  Opposite the middle wall of councilors was a lectern, to which guests such as himself were summoned to give presentations and updates to the Grand Council.

  Bass made his way purposefully to the lectern. He wouldn't let them intimidate him, so he didn't rush. He moved across the room as though he were born to be here, which, as with most of the others, was in fact the case. Regardless, he was glad to reach the safety of the lectern, where he could bring up the illustrations of his results and encourage everyone to focus on those, instead of him.

  'Good morning, Descendants, councilors. It is a great honor to be here today,' said Bass, noticing that the chairs for both the Body Descendant and the Spirit Descendant were empty. Alexander and Peter were each sitting to the side of the chair that in a few days would be theirs. Presumably, Bass thought, because Austin had insisted on it. It was a petty power play that seemed redundant; like anyone would ever question who held the power here…

  'As you can see,' Bass continued, using an energy wave to bring up a projection of a graph in mid-air, 'the world experienced a significant and instantaneous negative response to the news of Christiana's death. The moment Austin's speech concluded, the energy plummeted to unprecedented levels, and it continued to drop for three consecutive days. It finally slowed and levelled out last night to where it is currently, here,' he said, pausing to let everyone take in the dramatic drop, pointing to a place on the graph that matched his words.

  'To put it bluntly, we have no idea the effect this drop in energy will have on our world. However, it is likely to have a profound impact on our agriculture, fish stocks, weather, and most importantly, on the psyche of our people. This last point is the most important, as this is something over which we can exercise at least a modicum of control.

  'Three days ago, when Austin gave his speech on the steps of the Temple of the Body, Christiana had been dead for several days already. There was no impact at all on the energy as a direct result of her death. It was only when Austin told the world that Christiana was no longer with us, that there was an instant and dramatic decline.

  'Clearly, this indicates that it is our perception of events and the state of the world, and not actual events and the real state of the world that have the most profound effect, indeed, any effect, on the energy. This means that if we can find a way to positively influence the general populous, if we could give them hope that there may yet be a way to free the world from the Gods, then we stand a chance of bringing the energy back up. To be frank, we have a chance to save our world from destruction.'

  Bass paused, surveying the room. 'If we don't do this, the decline in energy is likely to have increasingly negative effects. People will see the energy level as proof that their worst fears are being realized, which will, in turn, drag the energy down further, in a vicious and destructive spiral.'

  Austin, who looked like Bass had just casually sauntered over to his chair, slapped him in the face, taken a bow, and then strutted back to the lectern, took to the floor. He looked down at Marcus, sitting to his right, before theatrically addressing the Grand Council. 'Councilors,' he said, in the same buttery tone that he had used for the radio broadcast, 'let me start by expressing my gratitude to Bass for coming and speaking to us today.'

  Austin had declined to address the other Descendants directly, self-righteous idiot.

  'I'm sure it is a daunting task for one so…young,' he drawled, the condescension such that Bass had to fight quite hard the urge to punch him. Instead, he looked over to his father, who gave him a we knew this would happen kind of look, before turning his head back towards Austin.

  'Now, it would be easy for us to jump to conclusions at this difficult time, when we are all still grieving the loss of Christiana. However, we simply cannot try to keep alive the hope of freeing the world from the Gods. Not when that hope is now gone.'

  A cold silence rippled across the chamber. It was one think to silently think thoughts like that, but quite another to come out and say them. The words were shocking…and dangerous.

  'We have seen energy dips before,' he continued, seemingly oblivious to the effect of his words, 'and it always bounces back when people come to terms with the events that caused it. In a few days we have the Chase. This is a high-spirited event that is known to boost the energy, and after that, we have a double Crowning and ball. These, I am sure, will lift the energy, and I am confident there will be no…,' Austin looked pointedly at Bass, '…destruction for us to worry about.'

  The way Austin lingered over the word destruction made it a challenge; prove me wrong if you dare.

  Nobody in the room had the power to challenge Austin. Even if Peter and Alexander had been crowned already, it would be a bold move to take on Austin this publicly, especially so early in their Descendancies. So the room remained silent, stunned at what they had heard.

  Austin's look told Bass his time was at an end, so he retreated towards the door. An aide opened it for him, and he walked out into the sunshine, weather that did not reflect his mood.

  Just as expected, Bass thought, as he waited for his father. The energy update had been the last topic of the day, so they would walk home together.

  Elistair exited the chamber with a collection of councilors, saying his goodbyes as they reached where Bass stood. They walked a short distance in silence before Bass could contain his emotions no longer. 'That was a complete waste of time, and to top it all off, Austin made me look like a childish idiot.'

  'You can believe that if you want, Bass, but you know as well as I do that most people in that room knew you were talking sense.' Elistair's soft yet authoritative voice had its usual calming effect. 'Austin knew you were talking sense too. The question is, why is he so set against doing anything?'

  They walked in silence as they considered the question. 'Regardless,' said Elistair, 'we will continue to monitor the energy and provide reports to the Grand Council. With so much energy wiped out, crops will start to fail. Austin will have no choice but to act eventually, unless he wants an uprising.'

  'That would be a sight I wouldn't mind seeing,' said Bass. 'It would remove the smug smile from Austin's face. Although, I'm not sure food shortages would suit me…'

  'Who knows, maybe the new Descendants will see sense,' said Elistair, although his tone didn't project confidence. 'But before anything else, the councilors need to organize a Chase,' said Elistair, chuckling. 'It was news to everyone in that room that the Chase will take place before the funeral. You should have seen James' face! I don't think he'll be getting much sleep over the next few days.'

  Bass laughed wholeheartedly, glad for a diversion.

  'They'll start with an announcement early tomorrow I should think, so make sure you're watching the energy,' said Elistair. 'Anyway, enough of all that. Shall we pop in on Anita and Cordelia on the way past?'

  Bass could feel his father's intent gaze at the mention of Anita's name. 'Yep, sure, why not,' said Bass, his smile faltering.

  'Do you think the Chase and ball will cause an energy uptick?' Elistair asked, as though it were an unconnected, casual comment.

  'You think I can't see right through you?' said Bass. 'You're so obvious it's painful. No, I'm not going to the ball with Anita. She isn't going to the ball; says it's not her thing. And no, I do not want to go with some desperate, vacuous councilor's daughter, thank you very much.'

  'You've got to take somebody, and Missy is very nice; not vacuous at all.'

  'Firstly, what kind of a name is Missy? Secondly, that you focused on the fact that she isn't vacuous means that she is desperate, which means she probably looks like the back end of a bus.'

  'Very well. Have it your way,' said Elistair, failing to hide his exasperation, 'but you've got to take somebody.'

  'Oh, sod off would you,' said Bass, although there was no real fire behind his words.

  * * * * *

  Cordelia's house was, in fact, a small and ramshackle cottage covered in white climbing roses.
It was a perfect, with a beautifully maintained garden, four pretty little windows, and a sweet, flower-lined path to the rustic front door.

  As usual, Bass and Elistair veered off the path and made their way round the side of the cottage to the back door, which was wide open. They could hear voices inside, so knocked and walked straight in, calling an upbeat, 'Hello?'

  'Hey,' came Anita's happy response as she recognized the voices. She greeted them both with a hug. Anita knew Elistair well; he was a longstanding friend of Cordelia's, which is why she and Bass had met in the first place. Elistair had given Anita her job at the observatory, and because of that, she saw him a lot. He would often pop in to see how research was going and to offer his opinion on any fluctuations.

  'Tea?' Cordelia shouted, from the front of the house

  As the others walked into the sitting room, Cordelia placed the kettle on top of the wood burning stove, an orange glow visible through the glass. It was becoming Autumn, still warm outside, yet Cordelia always liked to have the fire burning. She said it made her feel safe, although it wasn't clear from what, and it gave the house a cozy quality.

  Elistair plonked himself down into a well-worn armchair, and Bass dropped onto a sofa that had seen better days. They happily accepted steaming cups of tea and a piece of homemade chocolate and beetroot cake from Cordelia.

  Anita looked around as she sat down next to Bass, curling her feet up under her, thinking how different Cordelia's house was to Elistair's. Cordelia's was small, dark, cozy, well-worn, and a total jumbled mess, whereas Elistair's was light and airy like the observatory. Elistair had filled his house with antique energy meters and devices, everything with its place, and his furniture was old and comfortable, yet smart. It was a remarkable mix of antique and modern, and Anita, who was normally poised and in control, always worried she was on the edge of breaking something priceless when she was there. It was curious how at home they always seemed here, she thought, helping herself and Bass to their second pieces of cake, given how they lived in different orbits…