Act Two, Scene Ten
Nicator’s Lair
Melissa sat in her control nook, watching.
The four of them had spent some time exploring Nicator’s lair. On the outside, it looked as if it was falling apart. On the inside, the only problem it had was all the dust that hadn’t been cleaned out; it was obviously designed to be lived in, with enough beds for sixty people and enough canned meals in the basement to feed them for almost a year, which would’ve been a dreadfully worrying hint if Melissa’s suspicions hadn’t already been confirmed. And, she admitted, would have been more worrying if Eliza hadn’t already told her about two lower-security boltholes, ‘just looking out for her sister, in case anything happens to you.’
Melissa’s power might not have been any use in a fight, but outside of one... Melissa’s custom headphones fed her five different news feeds and a thousand cameras, each one from a different speaker in the phones to make them easy to distinguish, and while she listened to them she could also follow the two knights bitching the next room over.
“And, in local news-” “opened to rave reviews -” “No, you’re supposed to open it from this end-” “At age sixty-three-” “highly unseasonable weather this year-”
Strange to think of Pyre’s knights complaining about the ambiguity of microwave directions. Strange to think of someone who could break the sound barrier with his feet playing racing games. Stranger to think of him losing them.
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“The time has come, I think, for me to pass my burden -” “there’s no one in here, right? We can stay?” “clouds have spread over the eastern Caribbean-” “look, there was a zip-lock right there-”
She’d never wanted to know people like that, but Eliza had. She belonged in circles like that. No, higher circles. Clever, ambitious Eliza, who always wanted more than the world would give her, who’d been treated like just another native even after her powers developed, until Ilderia, who had earned her place, wanted knights who could earn theirs.
“Thank you, father. I trust that -”
Wait, what?
She hit the intercom. It was within a foot of her hand for a reason.
“You have all got to listen to the news.”
Nicator’s voice came on. “I’m watching.”
Victoria spoke a moment later.
“What?” Her voice was shocked, and she descended the stairs at speeds that would have caused serious damage to the legs of anyone who didn’t have superhuman abilities.
Then the two henchmen, coming out of the kitchen, and Jim Skullcracker looking up from his book, all gathered in front of the television. Victoria reached for a remote, flipped it on.
The two voices spoke in unison.
“As regents for our father, we, Elizabeth and Julius Balog, do solemnly swear to fulfil the duties of the King of Novapest until such time as he wishes to take them up again...”
Suddenly they were all speaking.
“He quit?” said Captain Crush. “The king can’t quit!”
Victoria’s mouth was open slightly, and she looked away suddenly, raising a hand to her forehead and then bringing it down over her face, which returned to its normal lack of expression.
“Damn, damn, damn,” she whispered. “Damn, damn, damn.”
“To act in peace and harmony to bring prosperity to Novapest...”
“I need to make some calls,” said Jim. “Right now.”
“This isn’t how it should have ended,” Victoria whispered...
The Thunderer was smiling. “Well, sirs, we may not need to stay as long as we had planned...”
And on the television screen, unseen by anyone but Melissa, eleven counts and one princess lined up to swear oaths of allegiance to the new regime.
“I, Catherine Balog, do solemnly swear to protect and preserve...”