The Column Racer (32 page)

“DO YOU WANT YOUR FATHER EMPEROR OR NOT?”

“OF COURSE I DO,” yelled Sofi. The voices got quieter. Areli couldn’t hear them anymore. She had to move closer. Crouched, Areli made her way further down the tunnel, readying her legs to spring up and make a run for it if she had to. As she moved further in, she heard crying. Areli pictured Sofi on the floor sobbing. The image seemed so wrong to her, like a tree with leaves made of stone.

Areli started to hear voices, not the voices that had filled the tunnels before, but two male voices, and they were getting closer. She looked behind, there was nothing. She looked back to the end of the tunnel. Two guards were talking to one another, one was shaking his head, and the other had his hand resting on the hilt of his sword . . . they were walking towards her.

Areli was frozen on the floor. She could only stare at them. Her muscles that were ready to jump up and run seemed to have tensed into stone, and she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. One of the guards lifted his head. Areli and the guard looked into each other’s eyes. Her muscles suddenly came back to form and she moved as fast as she could the other way.

She could hear them screaming after her. Their voices the only ones that filled the tunnel of lanterns. She ran as fast as she could, distancing herself as much as she could. She ran up the stone steps, slipped through the door, and then past the carriage. She stopped, and then ran back to the carriage and searched the front seat, as drivers are usually allowed to have a knife next to them. She hoped this one didn’t take his with him. Areli found it, sheathed and beneath the seat. The voices started to spread out from the entrance in the wall. She slashed the reins and leather straps connecting the horses to the carriage, and then threw the knife while slapping one of the horses in the hind quarters. She then started off back down the streets, back toward her carriage.

Areli was on the other street when she heard the men swearing as they fought to make the space bigger for the door. She heard their screams as she neared the end of the street, as they realized the damage done to the leather straps and the horses sprinted away. Her driver was on the ground as she came around the corner.

“Miss Roberts,” said her driver, startled, “what’s wrong?” She told him that they had to get out of there. He quickly opened the door, letting her in, and then climbed up to his seat and motioned his horses to turn around and they quickly moved off the street. As Areli was back into familiar streets, amongst houses, and shops, she let herself cry, first out of the fact that she was alive, and second because she now had the information she needed to send Sofi to the grave.

Areli couldn’t wait to tell Yats the following day. She couldn’t fall asleep all through the night. She kept tossing and turning in her sheets. She was plagued with thoughts of joy, relief, doubt, and apprehension. She lay awake, wondering if the guards knew who she was. If they figured it out, what would happen to her? Areli pictured herself being taken away from school that next day, as Sofi would want to keep her quiet. She then pictured her capture taking place more immediately, as she was startled by even the slightest sound, wondering if guards were going to storm her house right now. As Areli laid there, a series of questions came back to haunt her over and over again.
The voice
, thought Areli,
who was in there with Sofi? Who did she trust to take care of it? And what was he to take care of? And how will they put Sofi’s father into the throne?

The answer to the last question was obvious. As Areli knew that the only way Sofi would be able to make her father Emperor would be if his brother, Emperor Ailesh, didn’t exist. But when? And how? With too many questions and too many routes to answer each, Areli was kept from getting a single moment’s rest.

In the morning, her parents asked Areli if she was okay as both had fallen asleep by the time she returned home the night before.

“Does this have anything to do with Yats?” asked her mother inquisitively.

“No,” said Areli softly, the lack of sleep and exhaustion starting to takes its toll.

“Fides?” asked her mother.

“No, mother,” said Areli.

“Kaia?”

“Mother!” snapped Areli, without meaning to, “there’s nothing wrong – okay.”

“Areli,” said her father in a raised voice, “don’t you talk to your mother like that.” Areli apologized. “We’re just worried about you. You know that. Spending time with this new boy of yours, we just don’t get to see you that often.”

“I know,” said Areli, “it’s just school . . . I had a lot of homework.”

“Maybe you should be doing more homework than spending all your time with Yats. You know
how
me and your mother feel about your grades.”

“I know,” answered Areli, “please – can we just change the subject.”

Her father obliged her wish, and she spent the rest of breakfast listening to him talk about this new innovative procedure. Her mother would listen, but Areli could tell that she was stealing glances towards her. The fact that there were secrets between them was unsettling to her. Before Areli climbed into her carriage, her mother reminded her she could tell her anything.

“I know, mother,” said Areli.

“I know you do, dear,” said her mother, “it’s just . . . I can’t help worrying about you.” Areli smiled and kissed her mother on the cheek, and the two waved to each other through the glass. And then she was gone.

When she got to school, she had to find Yats. But Fides found her first.

“You look terrible,” said Fides.

“It was just a long night.”

“Does this have anything to do with Yats?”

“No,” said Areli a bit exhausted, “why does everyone keep asking me that?”

“No reason,” said Fides, “I just didn’t know if you two got into a fight the other day.”

“No fight,” said Areli, “just homework.”

“Is someone saying they’re missing me?” Areli smiled at Fides, as she remembered the nights she and Fides would sit together at one of their favorite restaurants and she would help her get through countless homework problems, for the material hadn’t changed much since Fides took the courses.

“I’m always missing you,” said Areli.

“Even when you’re sleeping?”

“Well, both you and Yats.”

“I guess I can live with that answer,” said Fides with a smile, “oh, I hope you don’t mind if I scheduled appointments for us to go look at dresses tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun.” Fides showed her excitement by clapping her hands and hugging Areli around the shoulders.

“Are you hanging out with my mother behind my back?” asked Areli jokingly when Fides let her go.

“Only when I’m hungry,” said Fides, with a smile, “see you at practice?”

“I’ll be there.” Amer came and swiped Fides away, and he was followed by Yats, who looked at her eyes with worry. Areli knew he knew. He could tell she broke her promise with just one look at her.

“I thought you promised,” said Yats, bringing her into his chest, “now I know I’m going to have to fail all my classes just to keep an eye on you.” She wanted to give him her shopping story, but the look in his eyes and the pounding in her heart, she had to tell him the truth. She pulled him into a secluded corner.

“I know how we can make Sofi stay away from Fides,” said Areli.

“How?” Areli was glad that he didn’t bother getting upset, even though she could tell by his body language he was evidently upset with her.

“She’s attempting to overthrow the Emperor.” Yats pulled away and looked at her, his eyes wondering if what she told him was a joke. “Did you hear me? She’s trying to place her father into the throne.”

“That’s not possible, Areli . . . they would . . .” He stopped, looked down at the ground, eyebrows furrowed, and then looked back at her again. Areli nodded her head, as she knew what he was thinking.

“They would have to kill him.”

It’s not that Areli didn’t mind if Emperor Ailesh was murdered, and she hoped he suffered, but now it was either his life or her friend’s, and so the Emperor, the monster, must live to ensure Fides does.

“There’s another thing,” said Areli, “there was someone else down there with her.”

“Down where?”

“In the tunnel,” said Areli.

“What tunnel?” asked Yats, and then Areli went through the entire night, going through everything that happened, the beaten man, the tunnel in the wall, the lanterns, the yelling, the chase.

“What did the carriage look like?”

“It was gold and had the markings of the royal family. Could it be Haskel?”

“That was my initial thought,” said Yats, “but did she mention any names . . . anything.”

“I told you . . . the only name I heard was Sofi’s.” Yats looked around.

“We need to talk to Brynn . . . he is supposed to keep a tab on Haskel.”

“No,” said Areli, “remember . . . we told him to watch Aniya.” Yats shifted his head, letting the back of his hair touch against his spine. He straightened his posture, and then looked into Areli’s eyes.

“You need to talk to Brynn,” said Yats, “he needs to know what happened.” She nodded, wrapped her arms around him, and then took off down the hall. “Areli.” She turned to look at him. “The carriages that the royal family uses,” said Yats, “each one of the Emperor’s advisors has one . . . he considers them family even before his own blood.”

“So it could be anyone.”

“We won’t rule it out.” Areli nodded her head and then took off down the hall again.

When she went to go talk to Brynn, he told her he was watching Aniya all night and she hadn’t left her house once. Areli then gathered both him and Finn, who had been on the other side of town the other night, scoping out another one of Sofi’s lovers, and told them everything that happened. Finn looked at her with serious eyes.

“So they’re going to kill the Emperor?” said Finn.

“It’s the only way I can see it happening,” said Areli.

“Should we tell somebody?” asked Finn.

“We can’t,” said Brynn. Both of them looked at him startled. “What do we have to go on? We don’t have any specifics, all we have is a rumor.”

“A rumor!
Just
a rumor!” said Areli, “this is real Brynn, and Sofi is at the center of it. And she is threatening . . . oh, never mind.”

“No never mind,” said Brynn, “what is Sofi threatening? Areli if there is something you are not telling us . . .”

“I’ve left nothing from you, Brynn,” snapped Areli, “I’m bringing Sofi down. If you don’t want to help anymore . . . then so be it.” She stormed off from them and tried to search for Yats.

When she found him, she told him everything that Brynn had told her.

“He’s right,” said Yats.

“What do you mean
he’s right
?” asked Areli, finding it hard to disguise her frustration, “Yats, we have her . . . we can bury her. We could talk to the Emperor right now.”

“And tell him what, Areli?” asked Yats, “that his niece wishes her father to take the throne. You don’t think he knows that already. Do you think he actually trusts any of them? He knows . . . he already knows. Brynn’s right – we need specifics.”

Areli was so frustrated that she couldn’t be next to Yats anymore. She stormed away. He grabbed her hand. She yanked it back.

“Areli.”

“NO!” she screamed, tears coming to her eyes, “she’s going to die. Don’t you understand that? Don’t you even care about that?”

“Hey – of course I care.” She looked at him with wounded eyes and a heavy heart and then walked away.

Areli was glad when school ended. She didn’t pause by her locker to wait for Yats. She just grabbed her bag and lined up at the doors, ready to get to the boarding facility. Ready to see Kaia and escape into the sky.

While Kaia was eating her end-of-practice treat, Aubrie told Areli they performed wonderfully. Areli could only nod her head, and she was grateful that Aubrie didn’t try to pry. And if Aubrie were to ask if it was something to do with Yats . . . she would say
yes.

Yats was there at her house when she returned. Areli wished she could tell him to leave. She wished she could look past the flowers and the look of remorse on his face, but she couldn’t. They sat down in the living room. He told her he would do everything in his power to protect Fides, but he also reminded her they needed solid proof. She, herself, knew it was essential, but irrefutable evidence was something that made her heart sink. She didn’t even know where or how they would obtain such a thing.

As the next day passed, the search for evidence seemed even less likely, as all the informants they knew of were missing from school. Aniya Black was nowhere to be found. Sofi was back into hiding. And the only one going through the halls was Haskel Cole, and he had an unusual thick wall of armoured guards around him, making him impossible to get to. Areli found herself going to the bathroom after each class to cry. She had the information, but she knew no one was going to believe her. As her information,
apparently
, everyone already knew. She felt helpless. She felt like she had failed Fides. She felt like she had failed herself.

During dress fittings, Fides was constantly trying to snap Areli out of her dire mood.

“What’s the matter with you?” asked Fides, “honestly.”

“Nothing,” said Areli, pretending to look very closely to the fabric that she was holding in her hands.

“You don’t think I know you well enough by now to know when something is up?”

“Nothing’s up,” said Areli, trying to sound happy.

“Oh, something is definitely up,” said Fides, “on Saturday you were fun to be around . . . today – not so much.” Areli looked at her, trying to look like she was hurt. But she didn’t have to fake it. That much she knew.
How do you tell a friend their own father is hiding a secret so big that if exposed, it would result in the death of everything she cared about, including herself?
thought Areli,
you don’t
. And she couldn’t. Areli tried instead to make up a story about the rising amount of homework and how she isn’t able to spend much time with Yats.

“Well
that
makes me feel great.”

“You didn’t let me finish,” said Areli, “I miss spending time with you too. I just miss the times when we were all able to just spend time at dinner, doing homework, and laughing.”

“And
whose
fault is that?” asked Fides.

“I know,” said Areli, “I’m terrible.”

“Well . . . you’re not that terrible,” said Fides, lightening up, smiling, and nudging Areli in the shoulder, “just do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Be my sister again,” said Fides, “I’m not a fan of that depressing girl who was here a moment ago.” Areli could do nothing but smile. She felt the tension alleviate in her shoulders as she committed herself to enjoying this time with Fides. Even though she felt like there was a beat drumming, measuring out the length of Fides life, and that that beat was close to ending, Areli was going to be Fides sister all the way to the end, no matter what happened.

Areli and Fides walked out of the boutique with two beautiful dresses, laughing and joking around like they used to, back when they were chorus partners . . .until someone came running hysterically towards them.