feast for them comes along once in a blood moon,” she replied, still not losing that smile. “They should feel honored they even were given such a deal.”
The two female figures were emitting different feelings as they looked at each other and back to the head of the table.
“I have a task for the four of you to complete. If you do, we will never suffer in this land again. But should you fail, the price shall be heavier than any of the others have had to pay.”
The four looked at each other with the air around them holding such tension that not even the sharpest blade could cut through it. The queen waited for the moment when the four had made their decision. When they had returned to their normal states, she spoke again.
“Do you accept my proposal?” she asked.
Two of the four took one final glance at each other, nodded, then looked at her again.
“We accept,” they answered in unison.
“Good,” she replied happily as she brought a silver key ring holding four keys from inside one of her robe’s sleeves. “Now let me tell you what it is that I need from you.”
Chapter 1
Work to Be Done
1
Night was falling over the city of Norrian, the capital city of the New World. Though the sun had set, many still had work left. But there was only one man whose work held true importance, or at least, to him, it did. His official title was Royal Guard Assistant First-Class Doctor Flinch. He had a private business he conducted when he wasn’t needed by the royal guards just like today.
His last client left as the sun had begun to set, and once they had, he began preparing to leave as well. These preparations were part of his daily routine, but it still took him more than half the sun’s setting time to finish. After finishing his organization and putting the new files in his system, he was ready to depart. He locked his file room and then the main entrance before stepping outside.
I believe this shall be an exciting evening, he thought to himself as he stepped into the street.
It was The Time of the Changing Leaves, and he loved it. The leaves in the city parks were turning beautiful colors, and there was a slight chill in the air, with or without the wind. Both gave him a relaxed feeling as he walked from his office to the northern monorail station. He could have hired a coach to speed him to the station in less than ten minutes, but he preferred to make the twenty-eight-minute walk through the brisk night. When it wasn’t raining, that was.
He walked without incident as he passed common folk, just as he did at almost this exact time every day, and did not look at them with pointed curiosity. He did find himself wondering, as he so often did, what went on in their funny little heads. This thought plagued his mind as he passed the dark alleyways that were said to hold ravenous hybrids that escaped containment. In the years following The True War, mankind’s geneticists had found ways to form hybrids by combining humans with specific animal genes. He himself had been trying to make two such breakthroughs.
Quickly, he freed his mind from the plaguing thoughts and started thinking about the genes that were placed into unborn infants to make them live longer, be immune to certain diseases, or have fewer birth defects. In an instant, he felt bored with this notion. He began thinking instead about the genetically-engineered foods that were made to give people more vitamins and nutrients. But that wasn’t very interesting either, so he started thinking about his hobby of genetically crossbreeding plant species to breed beautiful flowers. And since he loved this most of all, he kept his mind on it the rest of the walk to the station.
2
Before he realized how much time had passed, he saw he had arrived at the entrance of the North Business District Cradle and could hear one of the women announcing the arrival of one of the monorails. He stepped into the station building and walked up the stairs. There was a line but not too terribly long. And yet it still put him in a slightly livid state, but he didn’t let it show. He waited his turn, and when the soldier came to him, he was greeted with a smile, and he smiled back.
“Any lunatics today, Doctor?” the soldier asked.
“I cannot say,” the doctor replied.
“One day you will.”
“Perhaps.”
The soldier laughed at this, but the doctor kept a serious look on his face.
“May I get on the Black?” the doctor proposed in an exhausted tone. “People need sleep, you know.”
“And I need money for drinks,” the soldier responded in a business tone. “So I have to inspect you.”
The doctor sighed and raised his arms. The soldier patted him and searched him and his briefcase for weapons but found none.
“As always, you passed.” The soldier happily noted, and this ended their ritual.
The doctor didn’t look at the soldier or say anything. He only walked onto the monorail and selected a seat. Seven minutes later, with all passengers and cargo loaded, the doors to the monorail closed, and a woman’s voice rang over the speaker.
“Attention, passengers of the Black Monorail, we are heading from Norrian North Business Districts to Norrian East Resident Districts. This trip shall take a total of twenty-two minutes, and we ask that you remain stationary while the monorail is in motion. Thank you.”
The doctor paid little attention to this. His mind was set on a prize that for him was par excellence. And if he could have it, then he would feel like the greatest success the world had ever seen. But to accomplish this feat, he needed several things to happen, and he needed them to happen very soon. Yet taking his experiences into account and how his luck had played out throughout his years, they wouldn’t. But anything is possible, he thought. This and several other thoughts relating to this turned round his head when he felt the jerking of the monorail as it came to a stop. Again, the woman made an announcement over the speakers as the doors opened, but he paid no attention to it as he stepped into the cradle.
He walked from the cradle, out into the moonlit night. Once outside he turned right and began to walk through the city streets at a decent pace. He passed the streets along the cobblestone pathways, looking at the trees along the route he had taken. Upon reaching the entrance of Rose Park, he noticed a dirty beggar woman sitting on one side of the archway gate. He stopped to get a better look at her.
“Spare a coin, sir?” the woman begged. “Just one, to help save the life of a miserable woman.”
Having had his better look at her, he made his decision. From his studies, he knew she might have been pretty once, but she hadn’t cleaned herself in at least a week and had likely sold everything she had for some sort of drug. This was evident from the stench of the dirt and rot flowing from her mouth and body. He took notice of her position, her legs spread outward, and realized she likely had resorted to selling her body to pay for her drugs.
“I won’t give you a single coin,” the doctor said. She looked as though she was going to cry. He smiled. “I intend to give you a bed and a meal instead.”
She looked at him, and tears began to flow down her face.
“Thank you, sir. Thank you!”
“It is my pleasure to help those in need, miss. Now, please follow me.”
He waited for her to stand and grab the bag she had at her side. When she did, they began to walk nearly side by side. He led her through the park and down one of the adjacent alleyways. When he reached the other side, he turned right and walked down the street marked Lyons Boulevard. He soon made a right, two lefts, three and four blocks down, another right a block down, and finally, reached his home on Colossus Way.
“Here we are, my dear,” he said as he reached into his pocket for his keys.
She looked fearfully from him to the building and back at him as he put