Chapter Sixteen

 

The word that Botan had been found reached the Academy during a break between training sessions. Kuma had been sitting with his friends sucking down water when Carlos arrived in a dead run, strangely out of breath. He'd been on guard duty at the main entrance to the Machi. The devastation in his gaze and the way he glanced at Yara first clued Kuma to the reason for his arrival even before he opened his mouth.

Yara had been leaning on the stone wall next to Deacon, who'd been in the middle of telling them a story about how he'd robbed a corner bodega when he'd only been nine years old using a banana hidden in a brown paper bag. She let out a scream that would have put fear into one of the maetrie, and ran towards the front of the settlement. The rest of the students followed, even though Instructor Helena was due back any moment to resume their training on how to counter an emerald waku.

The body was about a hundred meters away from the guard post. Botan had been laid over a large rock, exposing his naked body and the bloody "D" carved into his chest. His eyes were open, the blank stare containing multitudes, even as nothing remained behind those empty windows. Pink scars littered his limbs, signs that he'd been tortured and then healed repeatedly with an opal. It was the worst of fates.

Yara picked up a rock the size of her head and launched it at the wall as if it were a piece of crumpled paper. It exploded into chips that flew in all directions. Then she curled upon Deacon's shoulder, sobbing between intermittent screams.

Niran and Uncle arrived moments later. Any emotions that might have been revealed were hidden behind the mask of leadership. His father had never looked older, the wrinkles around his mouth deepening. He looked like he was chewing his words to keep them from coming out.

Kuma approached his father. "We're being goaded."

"Shut up, boy."

The rebuke made Kuma step back. His father's face had turned beet red.

"Everyone out," said Brazio.

Kuma turned to leave with the others, but Brazio grabbed his arm. "You were the last to see him. We might have questions. You too, Deacon."

There was more by the look in his uncle's eyes, but it couldn't be said around his classmates. Deacon joined Kuma with his head down, his arrogance tempered.

No one spoke while Niran paced, not even Brazio, who examined the body with a clinical detachment. Kuma shared glances with Deacon, who was clearly in unfamiliar territory, then moved over to the boulder. He'd grown up with Botan, and even though he'd been one of Yara's closest companions—which meant they'd been rivals—he'd never felt animosity towards him. The wise-cracking Botan had been comic relief at worst, a fine soldado otherwise. He hadn't deserved what happened to him. No one did. It wasn't rage that Kuma felt but a twisted pity and an acknowledgement that it could have been him on that rock had things gone differently that day.

"Tell me again what happened," said Niran with his hand cupped beneath his chin.

Kuma repeated the tale. It was probably the fourth time he'd explained it to his father. Deacon added what he knew. Questions were peppered into the conversation.

"Braz?"

His brother had been crouched by the boulder, examining the ground. He shook his head.

"It was an opal who killed him, that's all I can say. It wasn't long ago either. A few hours at most. No signs of anything else. Whoever did this covered their tracks when they dropped the body off. I can't even tell that anyone besides Botan was ever in this space."

"There was the footprint I found," said Kuma, reminding his father.

"The only proof we have that it was a real person and not a demon," said Brazio.

"Some demons wear shoes," said Niran.

The hard stare between the brothers spoke of an experience they weren't going to explain.

"What are we going to do?" asked Kuma.

Niran smoothed the whiskers of his goatee. "You're going to keep your mouth shut until I ask you a question."

Kuma dipped his chin towards his chest while his uncle raised an eyebrow.

"This looks like Duro's handiwork," said Brazio. "Even if I don't understand why now."

The last comment surprised Kuma, triggering a memory from the day he was taken.

"It was a sneaker print," said Kuma, receiving a stern glare from his father for the interruption. "That's what we found in the cavern near the canyon."

"Drops don’t wear sneakers," said Brazio.

It wasn't just the Drops that didn't wear sneakers, but most clans in the Undercity wore soft-soled slippers that allowed them to move quickly and silently in the darkness.

"Which means it was one of the new alliance clans like the Blue Daggers, or someone else entirely. They're trying to start a war between us and Drops. You see that, right?" Niran asked his brother.

"I can't deny that it's a strong possibility. However, the clan will not see it that way. Already the news of this killing is spreading through the clan like wildfire."

"By the word of your daughter," said Niran with uncharacteristic venom.

The tension in Brazio's expression bent like metal warping under heat. "She's your niece too."

Niran's nostrils flared before he stepped away, shaking his head. "My apologies. This killing brings me great anger."

"As it does me," said Brazio coolly. "We must strike back at whoever did this."

Niran swiped a fist down. "That's not why I'm angry. I'm angry because once again, this act pushes us into a corner, reducing our options. They're shaping the battlefield and we're blind to our enemies."

"Then we should take the initiative to them," said Brazio.

Niran's mouth worked as if he found his words distasteful. He snapped his fingers at Deacon, who'd been standing quietly observing.

"I need you to take a message to Gregor. We need a meeting as soon as the shadows allow. There must be a response," said Niran.

Deacon bowed deeply as if he'd been born in Razor. The months of training had knocked off the arrogant shine. As Deacon left, Kuma thought to how he'd first seen the Black Crows gang member: as a crude thug. Now, despite his relations with Yara, he thought of Deacon as a friend and an ally.

Brazio waited until after Deacon was gone to speak. "You know we don't have a choice."

"We?" spat back his father. "If I do not act, then the clan will see me as weak and put you in my place, which means we end up at the same result. A war with Drops which would be disaster for both sides. Can't you see that we're being manipulated?"

"You were right when you said we need to take the initiative. This gives us an opportunity, brother. Even if we believe this was someone other than the Drops, the alliance would agree with us that this was their doing. We could use this to press our advantage. Use the treaty against the Drops."

"It surprises me to hear you suggest a diplomatic alternative," said Niran.

"You mistake me, brother. I want to win, whatever way that requires. My desire to hit the Drops has always been to that end. I see the trap that they're laying."

"What if that's what they want?" asked Kuma, receiving twin glares as if they'd forgotten he was still present. "The alliance forged this death to get us to bring it up, giving them a reason to eliminate the Drops. Once they're out of the way, then it gives them a clear shot at us."

Niran grunted softly beneath his breath. Kuma hadn't yet convinced him, but he'd garnered his interest.

"It's like that movie, where the three gunslingers have their weapons trained on each other. Whoever shoots first loses. Someone's trying to get us to shoot first," said Kuma.

Brazio smirked. "Your boy is right. But I think the right path is to eliminate the Drops using the treaty."

"Is this because you want to fight Duro? Prove who the best waku in the shadows is once and for all?" asked Niran.

"It's not my concern."

"I know you, brother. The need to be the best has always driven you, even if you don't recognize it yourself anymore. It's why I've always believed it would be a mistake for you to be the clan leader," said Niran.

The dead stare from Brazio sucked the oxygen from the room. The muscles in his uncle's upper arms twitched. Kuma couldn't sense any trigger of stones, but it felt imminent, like a storm on the horizon. He was waiting for the pressure drop. His father stared back with no hint of fear. Even though the lack of stones made his brother superior in a fight, his position within the clan gave him the upper hand.

Then to Kuma's surprise, Brazio's shoulders relaxed.

"I do what I must to support the clan. I will support whatever path you set us upon. Relay your orders, Solrei."

The formal acknowledgement of his brother's leadership of the clan relaxed the tension that had been ramping up. For now. Kuma allowed himself to breathe again.

"I must speak to Gregor before we decide." Niran glanced to Kuma. "But we must retaliate. The clan will not accept any other course of action."

"Then war?" asked Kuma.

"Not if I can help it," said Niran. "We must satisfy the more bloodthirsty of our clan while keeping the peace. And in turn, send a message to whoever did this that we will not be goaded into reckless acts. When you return to the Academy, keep your finger on the pulse of the students. I cannot have anyone acting of their own accord."

Kuma bowed deeply.

"What about Botan?"

The body had been an afterthought during the discussion. He'd been a living breathing person once, but in death had become a pawn in a dangerous game. One in which his removal from the board had created a precarious unbalance within the Undercity.

"Send for Natsuo. We shall lay his body in the Hall of Warriors as befitting his position within the clan."

Kuma left his father and uncle, not daring to linger because they would know if he were trying to eavesdrop on the rest of their conversation. He wasn't sure who he agreed with, but he knew that whatever direction the clan took, the balance of power was perilously perched upon a fulcrum. A simple tip one way or another and the entire Undercity would erupt in war. Kuma had never been afraid to fight, but he knew that would be the worst possible outcome. And not only for his friends. Deep in his heart lingered the desire to reunite with Pandora.