Page 56 of A Kingdom Restored

“On the basis of your own confession.”

The voice drifted down from above Merletta’s head, and she swiveled to see the Record Master’s lithe, silver-haired form descending from the gloom at the top of the spire’s inner chamber. He came to rest a short distance above her, so that she still had to crane her neck to look at him.

“Or had you forgotten?” he asked, his voice calm and quiet.

Merletta tugged fruitlessly at the guard’s grip, her natural defiance flaring to life once again.

“My memory is unusually good, actually,” she retorted. “It’s how I’ve succeeded in the program.”

“Succeeded, have you?” The Record Master raised an eyebrow.

“If that’s all the evidence you’re relying on, it’s my word against yours,” Merletta commented.

The other eyebrow went up to join the first. “And whose word do you think the populace will believe?”

“Many will believe yours,” Merletta said. “Maybe most. But enough will believe me to cast your credibility into question for a long time to come. And I don’t think that kind of attention is what you want.”

There was no humor to the smile that curved the Record Master’s lips.

“Once you would have been correct, Trainee. But things have changed, thanks to your own activities. The opinions of the masses are no longer of great interest to me.”

Merletta glared back at him. He could say what he liked, but the fact that he’d bothered to formally arrest her—and in a public place—demonstrated that he wasn’t done with manipulating public opinion just yet. Even now, the lobby had been cleared, and Center guards—no doubt acting on his orders—were keeping the crowd from entering the central spire and witnessing the petty confrontation.

“What are you doing about the threat of the dragons?” she blurted out. When he didn’t answer, she added, “I may as well tell you that I crossed out of the barrier two days ago.”

He knew that already, of course, due to Indigo’s doctored report, but Merletta didn’t want him to know she was aware of that.

“I saw a group of Center employees leaving,” Merletta persisted. “What are they up to? Have you found a safe secondary location? Will evacuation begin soon?”

The Record Master’s eyes were narrowed, but he gave no confirmation of her guesses. “I don’t think you need to concern yourself with matters of governance.”

He jerked his head to his guards, who began to haul Merletta toward the cell.

“Wait!” she called, her eyes still on the Record Master. “Where’s Letitia? I know you have her! What have you done to her?”

The Record Master had already turned away, but he stopped, his back to Merletta. Turning only his head, he looked at her with his usual unnerving lack of emotion.

“As always, Merletta of Tilssted, you know more than you should, and yet less than you think.”

Merletta frowned. What did that mean?

He was leaving again, and it was clear that he didn’t intend to tell her anything about Tish.

“What are you going to do with me?” she demanded. Panic once again threatened to rise—how would she find Tish if she was locked up, maybe even executed?

“It is hard to determine a fitting punishment for bringing about the end of our species,” mused the Record Master conversationally. “You said the dragons attempted to kill you on sight—perhaps it is only you they find so offensive. Perhaps you did something reprehensible in their presence. I thought we could offer you to the dragons as a sacrifice, in exchange for sparing the rest of our civilization.”

Merletta met his eyes unflinchingly. “I can understand the appeal of that idea. Given what’s at stake—and my part in it all—I don’t even blame you for wanting to try it. But don’t pin your hopes on that, because it won’t work. My death won’t satisfy the dragons.”

The Record Master exchanged a glance with his guards. It almost looked pitying.

“Thank you for educating me,” he said blandly. “I am aware that offering your life to the dragons will not resolve the problems you have caused. But it may yet resolve other matters.”

Merletta pressed her lips together grimly. She understood. The Record Master had no intention of actually doing what he’d described. But it would be a convenient explanation for her death to the masses, one which gave the impression he’d tried to bargain with the dragons, even though he evidently had no intention of doing so. Apparently satisfied that she had taken his grim meaning, the Record Master once again turned away.

“But whatareyou doing to prepare?” Merletta cried. “Tell me you’re at least going to open the barrier! I saw that the guards are still keeping everyone inside. Surely you’re not going to prevent the population from fleeing when the time comes?”

He sent her an amused look. “So they can scatter through the ocean, and encourage the dragons to search under every rock? I don’t think so.”

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