10. LIKE THE MOON

LIKE THE MOON

J ust as the doors to the throne room were being thrown open to Mei, Valerius felt the cell phone that was just for communications with Caden buzz in his pocket. He immediately pulled it out and saw that the young man had texted him in all caps.

CALL ME.

So Valerius' head was down, staring at his phone, like a teenager when Mei swept into the room. He was texting back as she was announced.

What’s wrong? Valerius texted.

His heart was thudding heavily in his chest. What was wrong with Caden? Had Humans First done something?

He probably has argued with his birth humans again, Raziel muttered, its massive head resting on its front claws.

But that was not the case as Caden texted back, It’s Mei! Wally told me the truth about how she got her Spirit! The soldiers have got to be Trojan Horses!

Valerius frowned. What was Caden on about? Did he think the mechanical soldiers held human soldiers? No, that couldn’t be. As the thumping of the metallic feet of Mei’s honor guard of mechanical soldiers as well as Mei’s voice, musical and lovely, rose up to greet him, Valerius continued texting with Caden and didn’t acknowledge her at all.

What do you mean? Trojan Horses? Valerius texted.

She’s bad! She tricks people! I can’t text everything. Can we talk? Please? Caden responded.

Chione cleared her throat noisily. Otherwise silence had fallen in the throne room. He glanced up. Mei was bowing before him, holding herself very still, her arms prettily spread at her sides, her long black hair falling forward like a waterfall of black silk. About two dozen of her mechanical soldiers flanked her in a V-shape. They, too, were bowing.

Esme’s mouth was twitching suspiciously. Tez was openly staring at the phone in Valerius’ hands with shock. Illarion scowled, but because he always did that there was no saying it was due to the current situation. Valerius shifted on his throne for a moment.

“Please excuse me. I just need to… finish this important communication,” Valerius told them, feeling rather like a teenager caught out by his parents texting at the table, he quickly tapped back to Caden, Be at ease. I am aware of Mei’s character. I will call you soon.

Then he quickly slipped the phone in his pocket and faced Mei, who was still bowing.

“Queen Mei, I welcome you to High Reach. I apologize for that--that distraction. It was a very important communication,” Valerius said smoothly. “Please rise.”

She gracefully rose up with a smile that, surprisingly, didn’t look at all plastered on her face. Her arms were still spread to her sides as she regarded him with seemingly nothing but pleasure even though he knew that his behavior with the phone must have been galling. He had not meant to insult her, but Caden was his number one priority.

“King Valerius, it has been so long since we have been in one another’s presence. I am greatly honored to be here,” Mei said sweetly and disingenuously.

“Yes,” was all Valerius responded. “I see you have come with quite the entourage.”

She put one hand up to her perfectly painted mouth. “Yes! My soldiers! I have brought one as a gift for you.”

She turned around and gestured for the largest of the mechanical men to step forward. It stood around seven feet tall and had a mixture of black and silver metal armor on the outside. The visor for where the eyes were showed two glowing red beams. The armored skeleton showed multiple moving parts that opened and closed, flexed and tightened as the creature moved. It walked up a few steps closer to him than Mei and then got down on one knee before bowing its head.

Valerius stared at it silently for long moments. Why had Mei given him this creature? Surely, it could not be built like the rest of her tin pot army! She would not want him to have a chance to reverse engineer it, even though he was certain that Raziel could turn them all into slag no matter what they were made of or how they worked. But he also had no doubt that she would have anticipated this and created some kind of backup for this defense. Perhaps they would explode when exposed to great heat and release toxic gasses or nuclear material that would poison the land and its people.

He had spoken blithely to Illarion about the danger posed by Mei’s mechanical men, but he wasn’t as calm about it as he appeared. In fact, the more he thought about Caden’s nonsensical message--Trojan Horses--the more uneasy he became. It would be like Mei to create something that seemed to pose a threat when, in reality, the real threat was hidden.

“He is quite impressive, Queen Mei,” Chione was the one to speak as Valerius’ silence had undoubtedly stretched too long. “And shows your cleverness.”

Mei seemed completely unphased by Valerius’ continued rude behavior. She giggled delightedly again. “Thank you, dearest Chione! To be given such a compliment from one as clever as you is so flattering!” She put a hand on her creation’s right shoulder. “Do you like the coloring, King Valerius? It was done especially for you and Raziel.”

He found himself smiling and it was not a nice smile. “Raziel looks forward to turning it into slag, Mei.”

Mei’s smile dipped for just a fraction then. “Oh, but you haven’t seen what it can do! You shouldn’t destroy it… not just yet.” She tried flashing a bright smile then as if destroying her “gift” was great fun.

Valerius stood up from his throne and walked down the steps until he was a foot from her. He knew he was invading her personal space. It was intended. She was over a foot shorter than him and was probably a third his size, not that Mei had ever let an opponent’s greater physicality impress her. But he knew how to loom, and even if he did not scare her, he made her angry, which was often more useful.

“Why did you bring them with you, Mei?” he asked softly.

The others in the room shifted uncomfortably. Simi and Ngoye tightened their hands on their weapons.

Mei looked up at him, still appearing serene, even if there was a splash of heightened color on both of her cheeks. “I thought this gift would please you, Valerius. A toy--”

“You do nothing unless it pleases yourself ,” he interrupted her crisply, something that no one did in her territory. Her eyes narrowed for a moment before springing back to those large, wide, girlish orbs full of innocence and light. “I do not want you here, let alone this metal monstrosity, not to mention the hundreds that you had traipse through my territory.”

A cruel smile appeared on Mei’s lips, one that was far more her own than any of the others she had shown so far. “Your people seemed to appreciate them. Or do you think it foolish to enjoy the beauty of my creations?”

“They do not know you, Mei, but I do. They don’t know it was you who slaughtered that village after seducing the simple mayor’s son,” he said quietly. “If they did, they would never trust you or find pleasure in the gifts you bring.”

Her expression darkened. “That is a scandalous lie! I was the one attacked--”

“No, you were not, my dear,” Esme said with a sour press of lips. “Please, do not believe your own lies, let alone waste our time with them. Behave like your true self. There are no cameras here or rubes to be taken in.”

Mei’s dark eyes flashed, but then she let out a sharp laugh. “I suppose you are one to know that the best, Esme! Everyone sees you as their favorite, fashionable nai nai.” She used the Chinese word for paternal grandmother with a shake of her head. “When you have caused more deaths than perhaps all of us combined!”

“Well, I did not spend my life as a common bandit . I advised the greatest kings and queens of this world,” Esme sniffed. “And with that kind of power comes death. Inevitably.”

“I see some merit in your robots, Mei,” Tez said, tapping his chin with one finger. “At least you would send soulless things to fight instead of using your people as canon fodder.”

“I protect my people,” Mei answered stiffly.

“Except that war inevitably leads to death, and having such soldiers seems to me like you want war,” Tez continued as if she had not spoken.

“Yes, what are you doing with these soldiers, Mei? What are you preparing for?” Esme’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“I share a border with Illarion. Wouldn’t you want a deterrent, too?” Mei asked as she gestured towards the Green Dragon King who had not spoken.

Illarion showed a mouthful of teeth. “If I act it is only because I am provoked, or need… room.”

“That is what the Germans said before the World Wars!” Esme scoffed. “Need room! With all that space in Russia alone, you need no more room.”

Illarion extended his arms. “My wings are large, Esme, I must spread them wide.”

Mephous’ wings are stubby for its size, Raziel said with a puff of dismissive smoke.

“You cannot spread them at all since Iolaire has blocked your ability to shift,” Tez mocked.

Illarion swung towards Tez with raptor-like rage. His head was lowered as if he was about to ram Tez in the stomach. For his part, Tez looked eager to take part in a brawl. He was going to have to let them go at it or something was going to get broken, likely a wall or two in the castle and Valerius had no time for that.

They are loud and annoying, Raziel grumped. Make them stop.

Valerius agreed with his Spirit.

“Enough!” Valerius’ voice rose above the fray.

Everyone’s gazes turned towards him. He met Mei’s gaze again.

“Let me put this bluntly,” he told her. “You knew that bringing these mechanical tin pots here would annoy me.”

Mei’s smile widened a fraction. She put a delicate, long fingered hand to her chest, the nails of which were perfectly lacquered in red. “I assure you it was not my desire to distress you--”

“You did not distress me, Mei. You have irritated me,” he corrected. “So the consequences are yours if these creations do anything . At all. You will pay for it.”

“And what will you do if there is some accident?” Mei practically fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“I will rip you apart and burn your body atop the pyre of your precious robots in front of your former people.” He leaned further in so that their noses were inches apart. “And I am betting that your people… will cheer .”

Can we do that now? Raziel had lifted its head and was looking eagerly forward.

Not now, Raziel. She must break the rules first.

You know she will! I would love to rip Xipil’s horns off! Raziel enthused about Mei’s Spirit.

Wouldn’t we all, but not now.

For the first time, Mei looked uneasy. She was used to the clever barbs and backstabs that Esme threw her way. Or Illarion’s chest pounding. Or Tez’s shaming. He wasn’t boasting or shaming or cleverly speaking to her, he found that he was incredibly angry and meant every word. She realized he did, too.

Mei’s eyes dropped from his. “As your people determined, my soldiers are not armed and--”

“They would not have to be! They could simply crush a human being with their bare hands or metal hands, or whatever!” Esme shook her head in disgust. “You should have not brought them here, Mei. Perhaps you have been too much in your own territory where no one tells you the truth, but that is it!”

Mei cast her an angry look and her upper lip writhed back, but then she lowered her head again and looked repentant. “I assure you my thought process was only to show them off. They are wonderful. Not as a show of force, but of advanced technology! What harm could they do to any of us in any case?”

Valerius did not know. But he would find out. He looked at Chione and she gave him a barely perceptible nod. He knew that the best scientists in the territory would be here to study Mei’s mechanical men. But would they be missing the forest through the trees? He wasn’t sure.

“All of your… wondrous machines will be placed in the dungeon here at High Reach,” Valerius informed her. His eyes narrowed at the “gift”. “Especially that one.”

Mei curtseyed. “Of course, whatever you think best, King Valerius. I am a guest of your territory. I will acquiesce to whatever you wish.”

Valerius put his hands on his hips and surveyed the group before him. “I did not ask you here. I did not want you here. But you have come. So let me make this perfectly clear, you will respect my rules and if anyone harms my people there will be hell to pay. Is that understood?”

There were bobs of heads all around.

Chione stepped forward and said kindly, “We do wish you to have a pleasant stay in Reach, but as King Valerius has said there are rules and his people are his prime focus.” She gestured to Simi and he spoke on his radio, which had a servant coming in. “Lassiter will take you to your rooms, Queen Mei. After your… your soldiers have deposited your things there, they will be taken down to the dungeon.”

Mei bowed low before she and her soldiers followed after the whip-thin Lassiter from the room.

Esme swished over to him. “King Valerius, I am so in need of a flight! And Scylla is just desperate to see your beautiful fields. May we have your permission to fly?”

Valerius gave the first genuine smile he had so far that morning. “Of course, Esme. You have my permission to fly my skies at any time.”

She curtseyed effortlessly.

Tez scurried over. “Wait, wait! May I accompany you, dear Esme? Eldoron longs for Scylla’s lovely company!” He turned pleading eyes on Valerius. “Please say that I may fly too!”

“So long as you fly away from me right now, I give you eager permission,” Valerius responded dryly.

“I haven’t flown with another Dragon in so long, Tez! This will be wonderful!” Esme gushed, not completely immune to the Gold Dragon’s charm.

“Indeed!”

“Please… go .” Valerius made a whisking motion with his hands as if he was a broom and they were dust.

Tez took Esme’s nearest hand in his and the two of them practically skipped onto the terrace before shifting and taking off into the peerless blue skies of Reach. That left Illarion. The Green Dragon King was looking at the still kneeling gift soldier from Mei, who hadn’t accompanied the others to her rooms. Obviously, because it was Valerius’, though he did not want it.

He thought of picking it up and taking it to a field and using it for target practice. But that would be unwise. For though he doubted this gift would have the same machinations as the others, it would still be good to know how it worked. Mei was probably counting on that, which meant it might be dangerous to disassemble it.

“I am going to take a stroll through your little village,” Illarion said suddenly.

Once again he miscategorized a city as a village then, of course, he insulted it more by calling it little . But Valerius did not care. He would just be happy to get Illarion out of his hair. And he had no fear that Illarion would accidentally walk into Wally’s shop and somehow suss out who the White Dragon truly was either. Illarion would not be caught dead in a souvenir shop. He and Chione watched as Illarion stalked out of the throne room. His shoulders relaxed, but then he looked at the soldier. It likely had a listening device at least in it.

“Captain Simi, take this down to the dungeon,” Valerius ordered.

But before the captain had a chance to take a step, the mechanical man stood up and addressed Valerius in a stilted voice, “My name is Adama. Command me, King Valerius, and I will obey.”

“Maybe we should ask it some questions?” Chione asked as she stepped down to his side from the throne.

“It will only tell us what Mei wishes us to know,” Valerius remarked dryly. “I would not even satisfy her curiosity with our most basic questions.” He addressed Adama. “You will accompany Captain Simi down to the dungeon. You will then power off until ordered otherwise by me.”

Adama smartly saluted and turned towards Captain Simi. It had already determined who Simi was, which was interesting and a little unnerving. It was indeed listening and learning. He did not wait to see them leave, but instead gestured for Chione to join him on the terrace. The two of them walked out into a nice cool breeze. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back to let the sun fall full on his face.

“Was that Caden on the phone? I've never seen you so fascinated by your phone before.” Chione did not sound annoyed at his earlier distraction, but amused.

He snorted and opened his eyes. “Yes, now you are making me feel more like a teeanger than ever.”

“A teenager with a crush?” Her eyes sparkled mischievously.

He rolled his own at her and had them go to the railing. “He was actually worried about Mei. Wally had told him some story about how she got her Spirit and he was alarmed.”

Chione’s eyebrows rose. “I wonder what story Wally knows.”

“Probably the true one,” Valerius said with a sigh. “He spoke of Trojan Horses.”

“The robots?” She looked impressed. “He didn’t just see them as a danger from their surface, but a deeper danger?”

“Yes. I must call him back and find out his thoughts.” Valerius pulled out his phone and texted, Can you speak now?

“I wonder what Iolaire knows. The other Dragon Spirits knew one another in the other world, didn’t they?” she asked. It was a rare question from her.

“Does your Spirit not know others?” he asked back.

“It does not speak to me as yours does to you. It only sings.” She smiled softly, but then shook herself. “I should tell you the schedule of arrivals for the other Dragons so you can call Caden.”

His hand tightened on the phone. “Yes.”

I wish he were here, Valerius thought and it was completely unbidden. Look at me, Raziel, I am mooning over the boy.

Iolaire is the moon , Raziel murmured. It is the color of the finest moon and stars.

Valerius looked at his Spirit in surprise. Raziel had its head again on its front claws and was gazing dreamily down at the Mid.

You are even a bigger romantic than me, Raziel! Valerius laughed.

The Black Dragon’s eyes closed and it proceeded to snore.

“Valerius?” Chione asked, eyebrows raising again.

“I am here. I was just… speaking to Raziel.”

“And blushing!” Her voice thrilled with laughter. “Well, I am so glad to see you in a better mood than before.”

“I am surprised that you are not giving me gentle critique about how I treated Mei,” he said, looking at her curiously.

Chione’s eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. “After she brought those soldiers here? I was so glad you took her to task!”

“Really? Hmm, I shall have to continue to be more forceful.” He stroked his beard.

She playfully hit his arm. “No! Mei and Illarion are the only two that truly need a show of temper!” She brought up a tablet and ticked off, “Queen Kaila shall arrive tomorrow around noon.”

“Ah,” he said with a faint flattening of his lips.

“You like her. I realize that she is flighty at times and--”

“She hates being away from water. We are practically land-locked here, which will trigger her boredom . And when Kaila is bored, she gets into trouble,” he explained.

“She will liven things up.” Chione smiled softly.

“Do we need to liven up?” His eyebrows rose this time. Then he said, “Have you reconnected since--”

“No, no, we are just friends now. So! Let’s get on,” she quickly said, her cheeks flaming hotter than his from earlier. “Queen Jahara will arrive later that evening.”

Jahara was more reserved than Kaila by a yard. She was a planner by nature. He wondered how she would view Iolaire. She was steady and thoughtful. She would not come to a conclusion until she had seen and experienced everything.

“And King Anwar? When should we expect him?”

“The following morning. Though he will not like being last, he is a small Dragon and it takes longer for him to come so far.” She ticked something off on the tablet before tucking it beneath her arm. “He and Tez will undoubtedly start a war of words with Illarion that the Green Dragon King cannot win and there will be blood.”

“Perhaps it will stop him from criticizing High Reach, my clothes, the furniture--”

“He loves beautiful things and has very good taste. Perhaps you could ask him for some advice with--”

“I like how things are.” He glared at her.

She just smiled. “Well, we shall have all the Dragons here for the first time in two days from now. Momentous.”

“Yes, and all the more reason for our unknown bombers to strike,” he reminded her.

“I have an idea on this to try to get more information on Humans First that I’ve started in motion,” she said as she tapped her chin.

“Will you tell me what this plan is?”

Surprisingly, she shook her head. “No, I think plausible deniability is best in this. I’ll let you know if it goes anywhere, and then you can thank me or I can brush it under the carpet as a terrible idea.”

He snorted. “You don’t often have bad ideas, Chione.”

“That’s because I only tell you the good ones.” She patted his arm and headed in. “Enjoy your call!”

He smiled at her retreating figure just as he felt the buzz of his phone and Caden’s message, Yes! Call me!

Valerius did and the phone was answered upon the first ring.

“Hey,” Caden’s voice was low and a little breathy. “I missed you.”

A smile was on Valerius’ lips immediately. All his annoyance at the other dragons and their shenanigans fell away. “I missed you as well. I think Raziel is even more heart broken.”

“Really? Iolaire has been pining a little bit, too,” Caden admitted.

“Oh, yes, I do not know if I should reveal how it referred to Iolaire.” He leaned his hip against the warm stone railing.

“Now you have to tell me!” Caden laughed, utterly delighted.

“Something about how Iolaire is the moon.” He paused to hear Caden and Iolaire’s reaction to this. He was not disappointed.

“Iolaire is blushing! And preening! And giving me a nasty look for telling you!” Caden’s laughter grew. “Oh, c’mon, Iolaire, it’s not as embarrassing as I was with one of Valerius shirts!”

“What were you doing with that shirt?”

“Uhm.”

“Caden.”

“Uhm.”

“Caden!”

Caden burst out laughing again. “I can feel your hard stare all the way here in the warehouse!”

“It is my masterful stare,” Valerius corrected him, a sensual smile wreathing his lips.

“Masterful?” Caden held the laughter back.

“If you truly could see it, you would tell me immediately what you were doing with that shirt. Do you feel my stare, Caden? Are you going to deny me… or submit?” his voice dropped to a low growl.

He knew Caden was frisking then. He felt it as much as heard the young man walking about. “God! Do you know that I have a hard on and I’m supposed to go back out and help people buy red plushies?!”

Valerius grinned triumphantly. “How many red plushies?”

“Don’t worry, your majesty, not as many as the black plushies. And certainly not as many as the white plushies,” Caden added under his breath.

“What? Is the White Dragon selling more than me?” Valerius pretended mock outrage. Caden made a humming sound. “It is only because it is new .” Caden hummed again with a note of laughter. “Millions have already gotten my plushie!”

“Let’s not go that far! Though Wally would love it if it was true,” Caden told him. “I miss you.”

“So you said.”

“Well, I would say it a million times. I really miss you,” Caden’s voice dropped low.

Valerius lowered his head. “I know that you feel very alone right now, but I am… I am right here. I am with you. We must just get through this and then… then it will be just us again.”

“I can’t wait. Oh, speaking of those other Dragons, Wally told me a story about Mei,” Caden began.

“Tell me.”

And Caden did. He told Valerius both stories.

“So which is true, do you think? Rose is positive that Mei was the bandit, but I sort of hoped maybe not?” Caden’s voice rose slightly at the end.

“I am sorry to disappoint you, but she was the bandit,” Valerius told him gently.

“Oh, man, Rose was right!”

“Rose is a good judge of character, or rather, I should say that she has been disappointed by people enough that it is easier for her to believe something bad about someone instead of something good,” Valerius explained.

“Yeah, I guess.” There was a pause and then Caden added, “So those soldiers--”

“Undoubtedly, hide some secret or are to distract us from what she is really doing,” Valerius finished for him. “I threatened her within an inch of her life. She may have actually believed me, but I do not know if that will stop her if she has planned something.”

“Do I have to meet her?” Caden’s outrage cracked his voice.

“No, you do not.”

There was a long sigh. “Yes, I do. Because she won’t leave if I don’t. So I have to.”

Valerius smiled. Caden understood that there were some things one might be duty bound to do. “The last three Dragons will be here within two days.”

“Two days?!” Caden squawked. “Why couldn’t they have just taken planes?”

That had Valerius laughing until he was holding his sides. Wiping tears from his eyes, he said, “Oh, Caden, what did I ever do without you?”

There was a shocked silence then Caden said, “I was here all along. You just needed to come to Wally’s.”

“Maybe I should have.”

Silence fell between them. Not an uncomfortable silence, just a happy one.

“You should be here around 7,” Valerius said softly.

“Before dinner, right?” Caden sounded so sad.

Valerius frowned. “Your mother is an excellent cook so I do not think you will be missing much.”

“I’ll be lucky if she even lets me have leftovers,” Caden sighed.

“They are still angry?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Your parents are sensible people. They will come around,” Valerius assured him. “But just in case they do not, I will have a picnic basket packed for you by the pool.”

“My stomach will thank you forever.”

Valerius chuckled. “We are ruled by our stomachs. Now, I should let you go, shouldn’t I?”

Caden was quiet. “I don’t want you to let me go.”

“I did not mean--”

“You meant to get back to work. I just…” Caden let out a self-conscious laugh. “It’s nothing. Just I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yes, tonight.”

He tightened his hand on the phone. Neither of them hung up. Valerius stared down at the Mid. He could see Dragon Strike Square from here and the roof of the Emporium.

“One of us should probably hang up now,” Caden said, but he didn’t sound like he was going to do it.

“We should.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I do not wish to either.”

“Well, this is a conundrum. I guess we’ll just have to wait until the batteries run out,” Caden chuckled.

“I suppose we will.”

But then, Wally’s voice came over the line, “Caden! We’re dying out here! I think there really will be blood if we don’t get more plushies out pronto!”

“All right, Wally!” Caden called then sighed as he said to Valerius, “I guess Wally crying or the batteries dying ends our call.”

“Yes, go help him and Rose.” Valerius smiled even as he ached a little bit letting Caden go.

“Tonight. We’ll see each other tonight,” Caden repeated as if assuring himself.

Valerius closed his eyes, imagining it was night already with the moon like Iolaire glowing. “Tonight.”