D. MacHale - Raven Rise

I found Genj alone in the tribunal cavern. I quickly explained to him about what Loque reported to me. The Flighters were still around. They were active. They were organized. I repeated what I’d said to Telleo about the man who was running the show. Of course, I didn’t go into any real details about Saint Dane. Genj already knew of him. To Genj, he was the guy who launched the dado attack. That was enough.

“Can’t we send others?” Genj asked. “You are on the tribunal now. The people need you.”

“I know that,” I said. “And by going, I’m doing exactly what I have to do to protect them. I can’t do that from here.”

“Have you told Telleo?” he asked. “Yes. She wasn’t happy about it.”

“She loves you, you know.”

I nodded.

Genj put his arm around me and said, “We owe you a debt that can never be fully repaid. All I can ask is that you come back to us. I don’t want to lose two friends in such a short time.”

“Two?” I asked.

He gave a tired sigh. “Have you forgotten about Remudi? He also went on a mysterious mission. He never returned.”

Right. Of course. “I didn’t forget,” I said softly.

The two of us hugged. There was nothing more to say, so I started for the door. I got halfway across the cavern floor when a thought hit me. Something was wrong. It was something Genj said that triggered it. I turned back and asked, “What did I tell you about Remudi?”

“What do you mean?”

“What did I say happened to him?”

“You said he was killed by the man who destroyed the pilgrim ships and staged the attack on Ibara.”

“Right. Did I tell you how he died?”

Genj frowned and shook his head. “No.”

I walked back toward him. Alarms were starting to go off in my head.

“I never gave you any details?”

Genj shook his head.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Don’t you think I’d remember something like that? If there’s anything more you can tell me, please do.”

I could feel my heart pound. I hadn’t told anybody about how Remudi died. No way I would have. It would have meant explaining about Quillan. And the games. I never would have told anyone on Ibara about that.

But Telleo knew.

Only a few minutes before, she said how Remudi was killed playing a foolish game. That’s what she said exactly. A foolish game. I heard it. I was there. How could she have known that? There had to be some explanation. Maybe Siry told her. Or Alder. My mind flew back to a million different moments. Things that were said. Comments that were made. Was I being paranoid?

Genj must have sensed my growing panic and asked, “What’s wrong, Pendragon?”

“I’m sorry for asking this, I really am, but you told me Telleo and her mother had a great relationship. You said they were like sisters. Can you think of any reason why Telleo might say she had problems with her mother and would never talk about her?”

Genj straightened up, as if I had slapped him. “That’s insanity,” he barked. “The two were inseparable. Telleo held Sharr’s hand until the moment she died. They couldn’t have been closer. She would never say a harsh word about her mother.”

“Unless she didn’t know what kind of relationship they had,” I muttered. “Pardon me?”

I couldn’t catch my breath. My head got light. I think I was hyperventilating as I backed out of the cavern room.

Genj called out, “Pendragon? What’s wrong?”

“Close off the mountain,” I ordered. “Send a security team to the medical section.”

“What? Why?”

“To protect Loque.”

I turned and sprinted out of the tribunal’s cavern. I desperately hoped that I was wrong. If I wasn’t, Loque was in trouble. Suddenly the strange overdose made sense. Loque had information. He had seen things-things Saint Dane didn’t want me to know. Was it possible? Could Telleo be Saint Dane? Had she tried to kill Loque? As I ran down the stone stairs, barely staying upright, I thought back to the time we had spent together. There wasn’t a single moment that she and Saint Dane were together, but that alone didn’t make her guilty. There had to be other clues.

I hoped that I was being paranoid. Maybe Telleo truly hated her mother and hid it from Genj. That was possible. Or maybe Telleo didn’t really mean what she said about her mother. She might have been in a bad mood. It happens. It could all have been a misunderstanding.

Except there was no way she could have known that Remudi died playing a game. I had no explanation for that one. As I ran, I tried to convince myself that I was overreacting. I didn’t want to believe that I had been fooled again. Unfortunately, I wasn’t doing a very good job of convincing myself. In my heart I knew the truth.

Telleo was Saint Dane. Loque was in danger.

I hit the ground floor of the mountain, ran through the stone corridors, and finally arrived in the medical area. The place was empty. No doctors. No Twig. No security. I didn’t hesitate and flew into Loque’s room.

Telleo stood next to Loque, gently laying him back down on the bed. She had a brown cup in her hand.

“Stop!” I shouted.

Telleo jumped in surprise.

“Get away from him,” I ordered.

“Quiet!” she said harshly. “He’s asleep.”

D. J. MacHale

Raven Rise

I leaped forward and grabbed the cup. It was empty.

“What did you give him?” I demanded.

“A sedative… to help him rest. What’s wrong?”

“How did he get the overdose yesterday?”

“I told you. It could have been from a number of sources. Can we discuss this outside?”

There wasn’t time to do this dance. If she had given him something lethal, time was critical. If she hadn’t, then I was an idiot. I had to know which way this was going to go.

“Tell me how you knew Remudi died playing a game.”

Telleo’s eyes widened. She took a breath, ready to answer, then stopped. My gut clenched. I wanted her to keep talking. I wanted to hear the logical explanation. I wanted her to say that Siry told her all about the Quillan games. Or Alder. Instead, she exhaled and smiled.

“So close,” she said calmly.

That’s all I needed to hear. If I hadn’t grabbed the end of the bed for support, I would have fallen over.

“A momentary lapse,” she lamented. “A simple, foolish mistake. Slip of the tongue. I’m embarrassed.”

I was hearing the words but didn’t want to accept them.

“Don’t worry, Pendragon,” she said. “I didn’t poison him. At least not this time. It was different before. He hadn’t told you what he knew.” She gently stroked the hair back from Loque’s forehead. “His death now would be pointless.”

“Don’t touch him,” I spat.

“I hadn’t anticipated this,” she said, pulling her hand away from Loque. “Without him you would have no idea what was happening in Rubic City. Or maybe you had suspicions and pretended not to care. After all, you took yourself out of the equation when you blew up the flume. You’re finished with being a Traveler.”

I wanted to leap across the bed and throttle her. Telleo had been my best friend since the moment I arrived on Ibara. We shared everything. The realization that she was Saint Dane all along made me want to scream.

“Telleo’s dead,” she said, as if reading my mind. “Since before you arrived. I didn’t learn as much about her background as I should have. I’m surprised it took you this long to have suspicions.”

I swallowed, trying to get my wits back. “I did actually. I just didn’t put it together until now. That’s not like you, Saint Dane. You usually don’t make mistakes like that.”

Telleo shot me a look and broke into a wide grin. It was an odd reaction. It threw me.