Bailey Baz's Arc

Chapter 26 of 44

Bailey sat on the throne for less than an hour before the danger reached him. A young scribe burst through the doors, arms full of glowing scrolls that slid loose as he ran. He was Rook Mallen, the palace record-keeper who had stayed on after the old King died. He dropped to one knee, spilling parchment across the floor. "Your Majesty, someone means to kill you tonight. I found it in the guest ledgers." Bailey stood. Tyrek stepped beside him, hand on his knife. Tyrek had fought at Bailey's side since the swamp, and he trusted no one in these halls. "Say it plain," Tyrek said. Rook fumbled a scroll open. "The dead King had loyalists. They knew each other by a token, a carved bone pendant. I found a room with one hidden inside. Whoever holds the second is close enough to strike." Cora crossed the floor, her cracked wand in hand. "Then we search everyone in the palace," she said. She was Bailey's sister and general, and she did not wait for orders. "Crane, seal the doors." Marshal Crane, the officer who had defected to Bailey's cause, barred the hall. His soldiers formed a line. One by one they searched the servants and courtiers. Bailey watched their faces. He looked for the one who would not meet his eyes. A woman in white robes stepped forward before the guards reached her. Maren Lossel had stood behind the old King for years, always whispering, always folding her hands. Now she smiled at Bailey, and the smile stopped at her cheeks. "You needn't search me," she said. "I served this throne long before you crawled out of the mud." Bailey knew her then. "Show your hands," he said. She opened them. Empty. But Rook pointed at the cord around her neck. "There. Under the robe." Maren moved fast. She drew a thin blade from her sleeve and lunged at Bailey. Tyrek caught her wrist and twisted. The knife hit the stone. Cora tore the cord free. A pale bone pendant swung from it, carved and inlaid with colored stones, the twin of the one Rook had found hidden. "You," Maren said, breathing hard. "You broke a thousand years of order for a swamp full of beggars." "I broke a King who fed on murdered children," Bailey said. "You knew what he was. You served him anyway." Crane's soldiers took her arms. She did not scream. She kept that flat smile as they led her out. Bailey held the two pendants in his palm. The last loyalist was caught. But he stared at the carved bone and felt no relief. Whoever made these tokens knew the old King's secrets. And these carvings matched marks he had seen in the swamp long ago, marks tied to his own frozen past. "Rook," Bailey said. "Where did the old King learn these carvings?" Rook swallowed. "That, Your Majesty, is written in a book no one is allowed to read."