The sun was still out when Taryn made it back to the bakery. Andon and the boys were having a melee outside while a pair of bluebacks coached and cheered them on. Taryn pretended to be very cautious about where she set her feet so they wouldn’t get a good enough look at her face.

“Thank goodness you’re alright.” Kem greeted her with a hug before she’d taken two steps into the room.

Without thinking, her arms moved to return his embrace and she breathed deeply of the warm scent of him. She had forgotten the fragrant mix of sweet bread and musk that seemed to be baked into his skin. It danced through her nostrils now, teasing her mind with memories of the lost moments between them. Did she really use to hate it?

"How is it that every time I leave you alone you find some kind of trouble for yourself?" he asked.

She could hear the teasing smile in his words. She knew it wouldn't last. In a moment he'd remember himself and pull away. She tried to think of something to say. But she couldn't decide if she wanted him to stay or… She didn’t want to think of the alternative.

Then his arms stiffened around her. He didn’t look at her as he withdrew and the moment was gone.

It’s better this way, she reminded herself.

“She lives!” Galen said before he disappeared into the kitchen.

“Welcome back.” Mama Kebar gave Taryn’s shoulder a squeeze.

Too late, Taryn noticed Marshal Coif lurking behind the door. “I guess this means we can call off the search.”

“Thank you for all of your help,” Mama Kebar said. “You’ll let us know when you’ve apprehended him?”

Marshal Coif tipped his head in assent. “Of course. Stay safe out there.” Then he was gone.

Taryn dumped her bag of rocks on the nearest table top and worked the sore muscles around her shoulder while she surveyed the room. The tables and counters had already been wiped; the chairs upturned on the tables and the floor had already been swept and mopped. “Are we closing already?”

Before anyone could answer her, Rai emerged from the kitchen. Puffy eyes poured quiet tears onto her reddened face, a frowning Galen following at her heels.

“What’s happened?” Taryn asked. “Are you hurt?”

Without a word, she threw her arms around Taryn’s neck and squeezed.

“You were… worried about me?” Taryn asked.

“Of course, I was. We all were. Where have you been?”

“I’m sorry,” was all Taryn could think to say. “There really was no need to worry.”

Rai pulled away and gave her a queer look. Taryn wished she had her empathy to tell her what it meant.

“A riot broke out in the city after a mutant got loose,” Kem explained. “We didn’t know where you were.”

“That sounds horrible,” Taryn said. “Was anyone hurt?”

Galen scoffed. “Like you don’t already know.”

Taryn cocked her head at him. “How am I supposed to know a thing like that?”

“You’ve been out there for hours,” Rai pointed out. “People are running around in absolute chaos all over the city. How could you not have noticed?”

“There wasn’t any chaos in the Manor District.” Taryn reached into her bag, careful to pull out the coin purse with signed receipt slips attached.

Rai gave her another queer look as she took it.

“When everyone else in the world is panicking, you go on as if nothing had changed,” Galen marveled.

“The city doesn’t become more dangerous for me simply because another mutant decides to visit,” Taryn said.

“More evidence of your perversity,” he replied.

“I’m so sorry.” Kem pleaded Taryn’s forgiveness with his stormy blue eyes. “You wouldn’t have been out there if I hadn’t left.”

Taryn was getting annoyed now. Anyone who really knew her knew better than to worry about her safety in a potentially dangerous situation. But her friends here didn’t know the truth of her. And she didn’t know how to assure them without saying things she wasn’t allowed to say. “I’m sorry I worried you,” she said instead. She thought perhaps they wanted her to promise that it wouldn’t happen again, but Taryn only made promises she knew she could keep.

“At least you’re here now.” Mama Kebar kissed each of her children’s foreheads before she headed out the door. “Make sure you lock everything up when you leave and don’t stay too long. I want you both home within the hour.”

“Yes, Mother,” the twins agreed.

“Aren’t we still another half hour to closing?” It was far too early for Taryn to go home. Especially considering what she’d just done and awaited her, she wanted to feel like a normal girl for a little while longer.

“People don’t do much shopping with a mutant on the loose,” Mama Kebar explained. “No one wants to risk being out and about until they know it’s safe.”

“Which is the sensible reaction,” Galen put in.

Mrs. Kebar turned back to Taryn with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, dear. Be safe.”

“Good night.” With nothing much else to do, Taryn joined Rai at the counter where Rai stood poring over the day’s supply lists. “Are you all right?” Taryn asked.

“I’m fine,” Rai said briskly.

Taryn watched awkwardly as Rai marked items off and edited numbers. She knew Rai was upset about something but she wasn’t sure what to do about it if Rai didn’t want to talk. “I see you’ve put all the chairs up. Does that mean dinner is cancelled?”

“Not cancelled,” Rai said without looking up. “We’ll just be having dinner at home tonight. You’re more than welcomed to join us.”

“I can’t,” Taryn said. “I have to be home tonight. And I won’t be able to stay after hours anymore.”

This got Rai’s full attention. She set her pen down leveled Taryn with a searching stare. “That’s… sudden.”

Taryn agreed. “I thought I had more time – another week, at least. But… things at home have…” Taryn struggled to find the words that would tell her enough and nothing at the same time. “Well, they’ve gotten back to normal.”

Rai pursed her lips, as if she wanted to say something but was waiting for Taryn to elaborate. “We’ll miss you,” Rai finally said.

“I’ll still be here in the afternoons,” Taryn said hurriedly. She wasn’t quitting her job at the bakery. She hoped Rai understood that. She would lose her sanity if she didn’t have her job and her friends at the bakery.

“Actually, do you think you could be here tomorrow morning? It’s going to be really busy and we could really use your help.”

“I can’t,” Taryn answered.

“Please, Taryn,” Rai pressed. “It’s only one day. I need to pick up some supplies and I’d like to use them while they’re still fresh.”

“I really wish I could help but… I can’t.” Her mornings were not her own. Rai knew that, yet she continued to ask, hoping for a different answer. Taryn hated that she had to keep secrets from her. “I’m sorry.”

“Of course. I understand.” Rai went back to her papers leaving Taryn to puzzle over her strange behavior. Rai never frowned this much. When something bothered her she made a point of letting everyone know. But she was being dismissive about it now and Taryn didn’t like it.

“Galen!” Gerrie, Galen’s youngest brother, raced into the bakery. “They’re real fighting and I don’t know how to make them stop.”

Galen ran out with curses for the Guardsmen who should have been there. Kem followed with curses for the half-eaten, jelly-filled kringle he dropped as he moved.

By the time Taryn got out there, they’d each secured an arm around a child and pulled them apart.

“…I was sorry!” Kaz said.

“I don’t care!” Andon screamed and squirmed against Kem’s grip. “I’m not your friend anymore.”

“What’s the problem this time?” Galen asked.

Neither boy explained.

“Fine,” Galen said. “No more swords for either of you.”

“No!” Kaz whined.

“Tell me what happened,” Galen said.

“Tell him,” Kaz pleaded with his friend.

In answer, Andon increased his efforts against Kem, swinging his fists into Kem’s face. Kem got control of the arms and ended up kicked. He dropped to his knees and released the boy.

Andon immediately snatched up his sword and shield and took off down the Fall.

“Really, Kemmy? You let a nine year old get the better of you.” Galen left his brother with Taryn, took up the remaining swords and shields and went after Andon.

“Are you alright?” Taryn asked Kem.

Kemen tried to stand, groaned, and curled back to his knees with his forehead to the pavement. “I think I’ll just stay down here a while.”

Kaz had a vise grip on Taryn’s hand, which he tightened when she tried to go to Kem. He clung so tightly that her heart melted. She crouched to look into the wild, unsettled fear in his eyes and she just held him until he stopped shaking. Until his heart stopped pounding and his breath slowed. For a few moments she could close her eyes and imagine that her family hadn’t perished in a senseless tragedy. That her baby brother had grown into this little boy, who raged and cried and allowed her to calm and sooth him.

Until Rai came out to entice him with sweets. He ran inside to join his little brother and Taryn placed the armor back around that part of her heart.

“What happened to you?” Rai asked Kem, who only shook his head at her. He was still on his knees but he’d straightened his back. He sat with his hands on his waist and took very deliberate breaths. “Let me guess: Andon ran and Galen went after him?”

“Neither of them would tell us what they were fighting about.” Though Taryn was sure she knew.

“Well, I think the day’s commotion stirred up some old hurt and the two of them ended up fighting about…” She trailed off with a sidelong glance at Taryn.

“Ady,” Taryn finished for her. “They were fighting about Andon’s brother.”

Rai nodded. Kem looked away.

“No one talks about him,” Taryn said.

Kem shrugged. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Because he’s a mutant.”

Now both twins were giving her queer looks. This time she knew it was a mix of fear and surprise. And perhaps a little guilt. That was the usual response when middlings were discovered harboring mutant secrets.

“No one told me,” Taryn admitted. “It wasn’t hard to figure out. With all the secrecy involved, he’d have to either be dead or mutated. If he were dead you’d at least mention him every now and again.” And Andon’s growing disquiet over their interactions with the Beast confirmed it. “What happened?”

“It really isn’t our tragedy to tell,” Kem put in.

“But he was your friend.”

“Ady was not our friend,” Kem said. He seemed to forget his pain.

For a panicked moment, Taryn was unsure if he was rejecting the idea because of the mutation or in spite of it. She forced the fear down. She can’t have been that wrong about them.

“Not until after he’d… changed,” Kem said. “Though we didn’t know it at the time.”

Rai gave him the look she reserved for when she wanted him to shut up.

Taryn didn’t understand. “Did he hurt you?” she asked quietly.

“Growing up, Ady and Galen were friends,” Kem explained. “They were a scourge to everyone else. Our entire class was sure they’d end up as thugs over in Larisport soon after graduation. It was just bad luck when he mutated, because now he was a thug with power.”

And it was there, when he said things like that, that Taryn was reminded of why she actually enjoyed spending time with him; why she thought she could one day trust him with her secret.

“But he changed after he mutated. He became… a decent human being,” Kem finished with a scowl.

“In the year before he left, he spent more time with Andon,” Rai said. “He went out of his way to show kindness and offer encouraging words, even if you didn’t ask for them.”

So he’d been an empath, then. At the very least a competent reader.

“I think that’s why its so hard for Andon. He only has the one picture of his big brother and he thinks its true of all mutants.”

Taryn was sure that her taking on the mantle of the Beast for him wasn’t helping.

Galen returned then, Andon stomping ahead of him with red eyes and a deep frown. The boy marched into the bakery and slammed the door behind him. They all watched through the window as he joined the others long enough to grab a fistful of sweets and moved to the corner booth to eat alone.

Galen threw down three sets of small wooden swords and shields. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do with that kid.”

“He misses his brother,” Taryn said. “Maybe you should talk to him about that.”

Galen scowled at Kem. “You told her.”

“She figured it out on her own.” Kem cringed as he rose to shaky feet.

“I might be able to get through to him,” Taryn said. “If you feel uncomfortable about it.”

“You’ll stay away from him! He’s confused enough. He doesn’t need your perversity twisting him any further.”

Right, Taryn thought. Because what did she know about crippling losses that no one else seemed to want to talk about; until it felt like it never happened at all or that it was only happening to her; so that twisted knot of pain and bitterness and rage and despair never found a way out of her and instead grew; into a yawning cavern that darkened her thoughts and troubled her already fragile calm; and she lashed out at anything that moved or breathed or smiled because it had already devoured every piece of good in her and now it wanted to devour the world. Taryn the mutant, Taryn the orphan, Taryn the sole survivor knew all about that. Taryn the baker’s apprentice did not.

“Do you think that’s what Ady would have wanted for him?” Taryn asked.

Galen spared a glance in Andon’s direction before he spoke in a harsh whisper, his entire face twisted into a frown.“He refused registration because it meant inhibition. He wanted to use his abilities! He was in no condition to know what was good for Andon or anyone else.”

“Does that mean you thought he was better before the change?” Kem challenged.

Galen’s cheeks flushed as he glared at Kem. “We are not talking about this.”

“Why the hells not? What if you had to choose between the Beast he was before and the mutant he became? Which one would you trust to look after your brothers? Which one would you trust if my sister needed help?”

“Don’t bring me into this,” Rai said.

“He thinks you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him,” Kem told her. “Well, I think mutation was the best thing to ever happen to Ady.”

Taryn saw it before it happened, the curled fists, the tight jaw. By the time Galen worked up the rage to lunge at Kem, she was already standing in the space between them. “If you want those boys to believe that they can resolve their differences without resorting to violence, then you need to show that you can too.” She was doing him a favor, really. He’d see that once he calmed down. He may have been taller but he was a wiry poet. Kem was the son of a Marshal.

Six young eyes opened wide in their direction, mouths hanging open in anticipation of a fight.

“Gale.” Rai reached for his hand and he let her pull him back. She kept her grip as she cupped his cheek and whispered something Taryn couldn’t hear.

“Are you alright?” Taryn asked Kem.

“You didn’t have to step in,” he said tightly. “I could have taken him.”

“I never said that you couldn’t.” Taryn told herself that he wasn’t really angry with her. Galen had been his torturer from their youth and he hated to see him with his sister now. That’s all this ire from him meant.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Galen said. His hand clasped firmly in Rai’s, Galen had regained his composure and found his confidence again. “I won’t say that Ady was a paragon of virtue. But he was my friend. I want to believe in him. But I have no idea where he is now or what he’s gotten up to in the last year. So I can’t say that mutating has made him better. All I know is its… dangerous for Andon to believe that he is; to believe that all mutants want to protect him. You may be willing to risk your life by putting your trust in them but the last decent thing Ady asked me to do was keep his brother safe. I can’t do that if you’re filling his head with fantasies.”

“Then you need to tell him that.” Taryn realized she might be surrendering her time as ‘The Beast’ in the boys’ lives. But she was nine years old when she’d been left to deal with her feelings on her own; ten when they’d finally spilled into her power and her life. Though Andon wasn’t a mutant, all the pain trapped inside of him could be just as destructive of a force in his life – and the lives of everyone he touched. “Before what happened between him and Kaz tonight happens again. And it will happen again.”

His eyes narrowed at her and he opened his mouth to speak but Rai gave his arm a quick tug and he swallowed his words.

“He is sad, he is angry, and he feels alone,” Taryn explained. “That won’t go away if someone doesn’t help him understand.” Like Vares had helped her.

After a moment, he nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

That was no guarantee he’d take her words seriously but it was a start. Taryn would just have to be extra vigilant for a beacon from Andon. Ady had left a year ago and Andon could very well be nearing his threshold.

“Great!” Rai said. “Now that we’re all friends again, we should think about heading home. Andon might try to run again so Kem and I will come along to help you before heading home ourselves.”

“What about her?” Galen asked, nodding to Taryn.

“Taryn always walks home alone,” Kem said. The look he gave her dared her to contradict him, knowing full well that she wouldn’t.

“With a mutant on the loose? That’s insane.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Taryn said absently. She looked through the bakery window and saw her bag on one of the tables. Her thoughts shifted back to political intrigue, assassination plots and power struggles. The 200 gold coins had been burning a hole in her mind for three weeks. Tonight she would have to decide what to do with it. “I’ll be perfectly safe.”

“Just because you aren’t afraid of it doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you,” Galen said.

“Let her go, Gale. If she said she’ll be fine, then she will be. Because Taryn doesn’t tell lies, does she? And she always keeps her promises.”

Another two seconds and Taryn would have been inside, bidding farewell to another day of successfully maintaining her anonymity. Another hour and she would be her other self, bidding farewell to the fears that woke her in the middle of the night. But the rancor in her friend’s words confused her. “Is something wrong?”

“Did you help that mutant escape today?” Rai asked suddenly.

For a moment, Taryn didn’t know what to say. Her mind snapped back to the moment and the only words it had were the truth.

“What are you talking about?” Kem asked. “She wasn’t even there.”

“Right,” Taryn agreed. “I was nowhere near the Pilgrimage or the Fall.”

“You see, there it is. You’re not lying, but you’re not exactly telling the truth either.”

“Rai, I… I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I know that you weren’t there. You’ve made that very clear. But that’s not what I asked. Did you have anything to do with his escape?”

Every word of her inquiry was very deliberate; there was no way Taryn would be able to misinterpret or misunderstand. Taryn only had a few seconds to consider what it would cost her. How easy it would be to tell a lie and save what frail friendship she had now. But she couldn’t do it. She was planning to tell them all the truth anyways. And she certainly couldn’t do it all at once. Where was the harm in parceling it out over the course of several weeks? “Yes.”

Taryn didn’t know if Rai was shocked by her response or by the fact that Taryn had actually given a direct answer.

“What!?” Galen asked.

“How?” Kem asked.

Now that would have been revealing too much too soon. “I can’t tell you that, so please don’t ask me.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?” Rai asked.

“Rai, please.” Why? Taryn asked herself. Why had she told the truth? She could have just convinced herself that Rai was talking about either of the other two mutants who’d been smuggled into the city that day and given her a very honest and convincing ‘no.’

“Are you with those masked maniacs?” Galen asked. “Were you one of the archers on the rooftops?”

“I have no idea who those people are,” Taryn said. “I swear to you. I only met him after he’d already been freed. I followed him for a bit. He didn’t steal anything or hurt anyone; he didn’t seem like much of a threat.” That was as close to the truth as she could get.

Silence. Then…

“You knew where a mutant was taking refuge in the city, and you followed it?” Galen asked. “Citizens are required – by law – to report any mutants to the Palace Guard. And you followed one? What is wrong with you?”

“The law isn’t exactly perfect,” Taryn said.

“But it’s the law,” Galen affirmed.

“For now.” Taryn regretted the words as soon as she spoke them. They sounded rebellious. Not what she wanted them to know about her just yet.

“You… you could…” Galen stammered, too stunned by Taryn’s treasonous sentiments. “You could be arrested for this,” he finally said.

“Not if the Guard never finds out.” Taryn watched Galen nervously. She’d said too much and Vares would not be pleased if the Guard were given any reason to start investigating her. “Will you tell them?”

“You had the chance to stop him but you didn’t. He’ll end up killing someone and it will be your fault as much as his,” Galen said.

“Do you really think I would kill someone; just for the fun of it, or because I couldn’t help myself?” Taryn asked.

“You’re not a mutant, Taryn. It’s not the same.”

“It is the same.” This was the closest Taryn had ever gotten to a confession. “You said I’d be just as responsible for his crimes. Do you think I’m too stupid to realize what an uninhibited mutant is capable of? Or do you think I’m too callous to care? That I would knowingly allow a dangerous mutant to escape justice?”

“I don’t believe any of those things.”

“Then I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You broke the law,” Galen insisted. “And you can’t be sure that it won’t hurt someone out there simply because it didn’t hurt anyone while you were watching it.”

Taryn chose her next words carefully. “They doused him with an accelerant and loosed flaming arrows at him. While hundreds of people just watched. Even if he’d survived that, he would have been tortured in captivity. Because that is what the laws of this kingdom dictate. They would have broken him and caged him like an animal for fear of what he might do. He is a human being and he deserves the same rights as every other human being.”

“If it saves innocent lives -”

“The lesser of two evils is still evil, Galen! And he was innocent, too. If he could make it through the city without hurting anyone then I have to believe that he is capable of controlling himself beyond these walls. Helping him was the right thing to do. If you think I should be arrested for it, let me know now and you’ll never have to see me again.”

“What?” Rai asked.

“That’s a bit … extreme, isn’t it?” Kem asked.

“Helping a mutant escape from the palace city is tantamount to treason.” Taryn had been reminded of that enough times to believe that Vares would actually let them execute her. “I’ll either be executed or spend the rest of my life in a cell. I will not allow myself to be captured.”

“Then, neither will I,” Rai said.

“Yeah,” Kem agreed. “We won’t tell the Guard.”

Taryn knew they wouldn’t. “Galen?”

They waited nearly an entire minute for his answer. “You’ve done this before.”

“Yes.” Vares would have been fuming if he knew she’d admitted to this. But Galen wouldn’t have believed a lie and Taryn never would have given one. This way, she would win his trust.

“How many times?”

Taryn shook her head. “You don’t really want to know.”

“It’s probably best that I don’t.” He nodded his head. “So, why do you do it?”

Taryn wondered if now would have been an appropriate time for a deflection. If she allowed him to keep questioning her, she would veer into a line of answers she was expressly forbidden to give. But she’d waited so long for this kind of opportunity, to be truly honest with her friends about the things she felt and thought and understood of the world. If she left now, they would come up with their own reasons and she may never be able to win them back.

“Twenty-five years ago,” she started, “an unidentified berserker attacked Grey Dome Temple, killing every Purists there. Do you remember the kingdom’s response?”

“War with the Maronai,” Kem answered. “They refused to hand the berserker over so we conquered them.”

“Maron Queens were proud. If Moira had in her possession a berserker-capable mutant the Lothors wanted, she wouldn’t have kept it a secret. But she denied it, because she didn’t have one. The Lothors assumed she was lying. They assumed that he was one of hers and that she had sent him into the kingdom. They destroyed a queendom they’d lived peacefully with for nine centuries simply because they were ruled and peopled by mutants. They destroyed the lives and homes of thousands of mutants and their middling relatives for the crime of one berserker. Do you consider that justice?”

“Berserkers are the Lady’s perfect will for her twisted children,” Galen said. “All they do is kill and destroy, even their own. The mutant you helped could be a berserker. And you’ve just unleashed it on the world.”

“Grey Dome Temple was the base of the Purist faith. It was a fortress. Do you ever wonder how a mutant could have gotten in?”

Kem shrugged. “Same way they get anywhere.”

“For over twenty years before the last war, Maronai agents had lodged complaints with the Lothors concerning the activities of the Purists at Grey Dome. They were trying to revive the Caelter Knights. They were kidnapping mutants from their homes and bribing the Guard for the mutants in their cells so they could bring them back to Grey Dome to be beaten, tortured and burned alive. They called it purifying.”

“That can’t be true,” Rai said.

“It went on for two decades,” Taryn said. “And the Lothors did nothing. That’s why they didn’t believe the Maronai weren’t harboring the berserker. That’s the justice of the monarchy you choose to follow blindly.”

“That doesn’t excuse what you’ve been doing,” Galen said.

“Five hundred years before Grey Dome, there was Jaidus. He went berserker in the palace city after the King refused to show mercy to a ten-year old mutant who’d stolen a loaf of bread. His episode didn’t kill anyone; it didn’t even touch anyone – ”

“Jaidus was a reader,” Rai interjected. “Even a berserker episode couldn’t give him enough power to kill.”

“Jaidus was the brother and consort to the Maron Queen; they didn’t invite weaklings to sire their daughters,” Taryn answered. “He had the power to do real harm, but he demonstrated his ability to control himself in not harming anyone, even during a berserker episode. In response, the King arrested him and tortured him for an entire year before publicly executing him as a Maronai spy and assassin. And the realms went to war. Are you noticing a pattern here?”

“The only reason we’ve ever gone to war with the Maronai is because of berserkers,” Kem offered.

“No,” Taryn said. “Mutant outrage at the sight of injustice against mutants is what causes berserker episodes. If the Lothors had put an end to the Purist’s purification ceremonies, if King Fathi hadn’t executed a starving child, if the First hadn’t marched on the Last Counties to destroy the growing Keeper faith, the world would know nothing of berserkers. So I do what I can to show mutants kindness – like helping wayward mutants get out of the city safely.”

Galen was silent; they all were. Taryn stifled her fury. All this truth – and more – was available for anyone to inspect. But no one ever thought to because they preferred to swallow and regurgitate the twisted version of events the LAAMP forced down their throats. But not for much longer, she reminded herself.

“I need your answer now, Galen,” Taryn pressed. “Are you going to report me to the Guard?”

Galen sighed. “If I agree to this, you can never do it again.”

“I won’t promise that.”

“Then I’m sorry. I don’t feel comfortable helping you break the law if you’re going to continue doing it.”

“So, now you would condemn me to die for the crimes someone else might commit?”

Galen grunted. “You’re not being fair!” he said to Taryn.

Taryn knew it was unfair to ask her friends for a trust she wasn’t able to give. But it was her own misplaced trust that would lead to any harm, not theirs.

“Are you being serious?” Kem challenged. “They’re going to kill her if you tell them yet you’re still deciding whether or not you should. She’s our friend!”

“Galen,” Rai pleaded. “Please.”

“Fine!” he finally agreed. “I won’t say anything. But the next time a mutant terrorizes the city, I’m coming with you.”

“I understand.” They both knew the chances of another mutant arriving were almost nonexistent. But he was suspicious of her now and his investigation into her motives would continue. There was only one way for her to get through to him.

Taryn retrieved her bag and bid them her farewells. She grabbed her hooded cloak from where it hung by the door and thanked them for their trust. Then she slipped out onto the Fall and heading towards the palace.

Save for the bluebacks patrolling the city for Denan, the streets were nearly deserted. She bowed her head beneath her hood to conceal her face and wrapped the cloak around herself. None bothered her.

The significance of her confrontation with her friends was not lost on her. She’d admitted to treason and she had weakened their trust by asking something they couldn’t refuse her. She hadn’t wanted to do it, but Galen had forced her hand. Now she had to be careful. She didn’t know what she'd do with herself if she lost them. But she had taken the first real step to achieving her goals. And succeeded. It encouraged her to believe that the rest of her plans could go just as well. And if everything went perfectly tonight, she wouldn’t have to worry about misplaced trust. There would be no more secrets standing between her and everyone she met. There would be no rules or laws that forced her to keep secrets.

That’s what she focused her thoughts on. Galen wasn’t her enemy, the LAAMP was. They were the ones who lied to the people. They spread their fear and hatred to the ends of the kingdom and the King allowed it. That would have to stop. If Taryn succeeded – when Taryn succeeded – it would mean an end to all the fear and hatred. An end to all the inequality and the start of a completely new world. A better world for everyone, mutants and middlings alike. After all her years of living, working and dreaming in secret, she was finally ready. She had to be.

The stone wall that surrounded the palace grounds stretched through all five sectors of the palace city. There were about twenty yards of space between where the city ended and the palace wall began. The courtyard was cordoned off for the palace memorial; decorated with carved images and bronze plaques, riddled with statues and sculptures of Lothoria’s royal history.

The memorial chronicled the many historic battles of the royal family and listed all the great achievements of the past rulers and Congress under their reign. All except for one: Queen Valyria. Great-granddaughter to Sainted King Varn, Valyria had reigned for three short months before falling into obscurity. All records of her rule were absent from history except that she had nearly destroyed the kingdom. How she had attempted this feat, no one knew. But she was the reason Lothor women could not inherit the throne.

Taryn suspected she had evolved into a mutant. The kingdom of Lothoria was built on mutant hatred. If the legends could be believed, then no one in the line of Lothor could possibly become a mutant. If a Queen among them had in fact mutated, then the Lothors would have lost all claims to royalty and the kingdom would have fallen to war. Many lives would be much better off now if Valyria had been allowed to rule as a mutant Queen. A thousand years later, Taryn would have to be the next best thing.

The LAAMP – in all their arrogant folly – thought it a brilliant idea to have the Infantry lead tours through the palace and the memorial was the first stop. People paid for the chance to walk the same halls the First Lothor King stalked on his way to defeat the Thousand Arm Warriors; with the hope of catching a glimpse of the reclusive man who more and more people believed was shaping up to be the Last Lothor King. Thousands of strangers and Taryn had to examine the minds of every single one of them.

She had taken one of those tours once and she hadn’t been impressed. The entirety of the northwest wing was taken up by the library – Taryn’s favorite part of the whole ordeal. But other than that, the tourists were only shown two of the palace’s four stories and two of its five courtyards. The other three had been walled up seven years ago – several months after Taryn’s arrival in the city. What happened in those yards was one of the Seat’s most carefully guarded secrets and anyone who dared to ask about it was banned from the palace and expelled from the city. Taryn knew, though: it was where the Black Knights received their training.

The highlight of the tour was the throne room, where a few lucky souls were allowed to test their worthiness against the Seat of the Gods. Most claimed to feel the throne’s magic at work against them, like a heat rising to force them off. They never lasted longer than a few seconds. Taryn dismissed it all as the usual mystic foolishness and had been tempted to take a turn to prove it. But Vares had forbidden it. Whatever power remained in that gilded behemoth of a chair, he explained, would flare up and burn her worse than it had the usurper Fathi because she was a mutant. Fortunately, that was the extent of his mysticism.

In that single two hour tour Taryn had found seventeen opportunities to slip away. Seventeen separate chances to end the Lothor line for good. It was appalling! The King was unwed and childless. This game he played with his mistress and the city’s hopes showed that he was in no hurry to change that. For all intents and purposes, he was the Last Lothor King and his assassination ought to be much more challenging than that. He made himself an easy target and Taryn didn’t know if it was out of confidence or simple negligence; she didn’t like it.

The most disappointing part had been the ease with which she’d passed the security checks. These checks relied heavily on the passport registration system the LAAMP had instated. Taryn could admit that it was the their most inspired idea, and they were quite proud of it themselves. But even as their best it was flawed. They didn’t account for the fact that weak or corrupt officials would sign off on a fraudulent passport under duress. When that happened, mutants like Taryn were able to enter the palace unquestioned. And even after having been caught snooping through the restricted areas multiple times, the guards had given her kind smiles and sent her back to join the tour after glancing at her passport. Someone was bound to take advantage of such a lack in palace security and Taryn seriously considered obtaining Vares’s permission to be that person.

That would certainly turn the tide in her secret war with the LAAMP. They were so convinced that these were the prophesied times. They believed that the King needed the love and support of his people to claim the ancient power necessary to defeat mutant-kind. Continuing their reckless tours kept the legends and myths alive, which kept the hatred alive. They were ruining all of Taryn’s plans and if she hoped to remake the world she needed a way to deal with them – permanently.

The palace’s wrought iron gates were guarded by five of the King’s Infantry. A path of loose black stones cut through the grounds to the inner wall and around that to the palace’s only entrance on the southwestern front. The gate was open when Taryn approached and her Survey told her that four of the five were on the wall, looking out over the city and the palace as they should. The fifth was supposed to be standing at the gate’s entrance checking wrists, passports and cargo. But he paced across the gate. His eyes were closed and he counted out loud.

The men on the wall saw her approach, but instead of halting her themselves or notifying the fifth, they whispered and snickered amongst themselves. Then one of them shouted to the fifth. As he crossed the gateway again, Taryn saw that he was now rubbing his belly with one hand and patting his head with the other.

His name was Calder Rhys. He was only a few years older than Taryn. He’d been in training to be an officer of the Lothorian Guard when he’d impressed a High Commander enough to be nominated for Black Knight training. It was petty of the LAAMP Administrators, who dealt with the kingdom’s defenses against mutants, not to trust the judgments of their High Commanders – Taryn was sure they realized this. Still, they gave Rhys a position as an Infantryman and posted him at the palace gate to test him. This was his first day. And he was pacing and counting and patting and rubbing because his fellow Infantry were breaking him in. And Taryn was an opportunity to further his humiliation.

They let her through unchallenged and didn’t make any sounds to alert Rhys to her presence. They were making it too easy.

She matched her steps to Rhys’s and the gravel under her feet crunched in time to his footfalls. She passed inches from him and still he didn’t notice her. Taryn was disappointed. When she was a few yards away, she began to wonder how long they would let it go on; if they would ever stop him and let him know that someone had slipped through on his watch before she reached the inner wall. This was when she heard him stop pacing and call out to her.

“Hey! You there! Stop!”

Taryn smiled and ignored him, preparing herself for what was to come. She heard his steps quicken to catch up to her.

“If you do not stop, I will be forced to apprehend you on suspicion of being an enemy of the Seat.”

Taryn stopped. She wasn’t as far from the gate as she would have liked to be, but she would fix that soon enough.

“Turn around,” Rhys commanded, “and show yourself.”

Taryn turned. She threw her hood back and smiled. Rhys had a handsome, angular face. Rai would have said it was chiseled to perfection but Taryn was more concerned with his reaction. His eyes widened in surprise and his shoulders slumped as he relaxed his defensive stance. That mistake would cost him. Taryn looked up to the four guards on the wall and waved. They relaxed too.

“All persons entering the palace grounds must present themselves and state their intentions in a proper manner,” Rhys said.

“I know,” Taryn said. She giggled and loosened her body, trying to appear as non-threatening as she could without losing all of her offensive options.

Rhys’s shoulders dropped even lower and he stepped closer to her. His hands left the hilt of his sword and he presented her with the wide expanse of his unguarded chest. “You’ll need to identify yourself and state your purpose in coming here.” His voice had lost its sharp authority. “Otherwise, I cannot let you pass.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Taryn chuckled and held her hand out for him to shake. “My name is Taryn. I’m here to kill the King.”