Chapter 21 - XXI. | Alliance of calamity, capitulate not... (1/2)

Roman had been pleasantly surprised to discover a first aid kit in Gerald's truck. Dressing wounds wasn't his forte, but Voreese and Mehlsanz were able to provide apt instruction. And when he finished, he thought Lynnette's cotton-white bandage looked quite skillfully applied.

For the first hour or so of driving, Lynnette's questions were unrelenting, but given all she'd been through, he wasn't about to spare her any explanations. And after she seemed to have wrapped her head around imaginary beings and undying people, she started asking why Hector was not regenerating like before.

”Because his reaper is severely wounded,” Roman explained. ”He won't start regenerating again until Garovel recovers.”

Lynnette eyed the half-destroyed helm containing what remained of Hector's head. She couldn't see Garovel's unconscious, shriveled form clinging to the back of it, but Roman could.

To his eyes, reapers looked like ethereal birds. Crows, precisely--but at the moment, Garovel was no more than a dark smudge. He would have to take Voreese's word for it that reapers could still recover from such a state.

Mehlsanz and Voreese had both been actively scouting to ensure they were not being followed, which meant flying up extremely high for visibility. They didn't report anything, and after a while, Roman finally began to relax.

'That fight should have gone smoother,' Voreese said privately. 'Maybe we've been avoiding conflicts for too long.'

Eyes closed, Roman rested his head against the window of the truck's cabin. 'You said you wanted to keep a low profile and build an empire.'

'I know. But this country is important to you. And apparently, we picked shitty allies. If I'd known you had something you wanted to protect, I would've pushed you harder to become stronger.'

He peeked at Voreese with one eye. 'I didn't think my feelings mattered to you that much.'

'Then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought.'

He smirked and closed his eyes again.

Soon, they reached the city of Walton. His hometown was a welcome sight, even if it was blurry without his glasses. Voreese gave the Queen directions to Roman's midtown mansion. They exited the vehicle in the underground parking complex and took the elevator up.

”Why don't you two get some rest?” Roman said to the ladies. ”Make yourselves at home, and we'll reconvene later to figure out our next move.”

”I am ready to discuss it now,” said Helen.

Roman looked at Lynnette.

She glanced at the Queen. ”I think I'd like to rest, if you don't mind...”

”Of course. And thank you, Lynnette. Your help has been invaluable.”

”I'll make a call,” said Roman. ”I know a good private doctor.”

The elevator doors opened, and a petite blond woman was waiting for them. ”Master Roman!” she said. ”You look like hell! What happened?”

”Lots. We have guests, Gina. Treat them well.”

Gina frowned. ”Why didn't you call ahead? I would've had everything prepared already.”

”Phone was destroyed. Please show Lynnette here to one of the bedrooms.”

”Sir, are you--is that a head that you're carrying?”

”It belongs to an acquaintance. I'm keeping it safe for him. Now, please.”

She stiffened, but nodded. ”As you say. Please follow me.”

”Oh, and bring me a new pair of glasses.”

Gina immediately retrieved a pair from her vest pocket.

He took them. ”Ah, finally!” He looked around, blinking happily before c.o.c.king an eyebrow at Gina. ”Why did you have my glasses on you?”

”Because you are very needy, sir.”

He shooed her away, and Lynnette followed. He showed Helen to the kitchen and began scrounging for food.

”I still do not know who you are,” the Queen said. ”Or why you decided to help me.”

Roman tossed her a premade sandwich. ”My name is Roman Fullister,” he said, biting into his own. ”As for why I helped you, eh... I suppose that'd be part national pride and part business.”

”Business,” she said. ”You mean thievery?”

Voreese gave a snort. 'Roman is to thievery what you are to Atreya.'

Roman's brow lowered. ”That'd make me the queen of thieves, Voreese.”

'Oh, you know what I meant.'

”Please, just let me do the talking.”

'No, f.u.c.k you! Roman only steals from the super wealthy! And nobody knows it, but he takes care of the poor, too! He's a great guy!'

Roman scratched his head. ”I don't know about that. I do live pretty comfortably, as you can see.”

'Psh! You're talking to the f.u.c.k.i.n.g Queen, Roman. She's not impressed by your shiny floors and fancy sinks. This place probably looks like a crack house to her.'

It was Helen's turn to furrow her brow.

Roman sighed and leaned against the refrigerator. ”Point is, I have an organized operation here in Atreya. A number of highly-skilled people work under me. And while I might be able to take advantage of the chaos that Abolish's plans will bring, it would only hurt my business in the long run.”

'And Roman grew up in Atreya, so he has a soft spot for it.'

”Yeah, I guess I do.”

'He was an orphan, too.'

”Well, I don't see how that's relevant...”

'Lived on the streets for a long time, he did. It's a real rags-to-riches story.'

”Voreese, what the hell? They don't care about any of that.”

'Well, they should! Our previous allies obviously didn't care, and look at what d.i.c.ks they turned out to be!'

”We knew they were d.i.c.ks when we aligned with them.”

'Yeah, but we didn't know how much! They were mega-d.i.c.ks!'

”You'll have to forgive Voreese,” said Roman. ”She tends to hold grudges. Not that I disagree with her on this one.”

Mehlsanz floated behind Helen. 'What should our next move be? We've been run out of the capital. And it doesn't seem like we have the power to take Sescoria back.'

Voreese nodded. 'And we definitely don't have the power to keep Sescoria. Even if we killed the ones already there, more might show up like Gerald said.'

”Then we require more power,” said Helen. ”Where might we find it?”

A brief silence fell.

Roman's expression soured. ”Can anyone think of something that isn't the Vanguard?”

Helen looked over everyone. ”I am not sure I understand what this Vanguard group is. They protect people from Abolish, no?”

”They do, yeah. And if we go to them for help, they'll probably give it. But afterwards, they won't just send us on our merry way. They'll want our support, too.”

”That only seems fair,” said Helen.

”Maybe so,” said Roman, ”but you should understand, Your Majesty. You might very well lose control of Atreya to them.”

”We will see about that.”

'And besides, she's already lost it to Abolish,' said Voreese.

'There's another problem,' said Mehlsanz. 'I abandoned the Vanguard. I'm not sure how welcoming they'll be. They may try to kill us.'

'Oh. Delightful.'

”Then maybe we should go to Sai-hee for help,” said Roman.

Voreese gave a winged shrug and tilted her bird's head. 'It's worth looking into, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I doubt Sai-hee will break her neutrality and attack Abolish just because we ask her to.'

'Getting in contact with her will not be easy.'

Helen folded her arms. ”Why does Abolish want war, exactly? And what kind of war will they try to create?”

”If nothing else, their motives are always easy to understand. They want to cause as much destruction and death as possible. Whatever their plan is, it'll be designed to maximize those things.”

'Their plan is obvious enough,' said Mehlsanz. 'They want Atreya to instigate war with another country in such a way that even more countries will be dragged into the fighting.'