Commander Taunton led Sean and Dillon back across the circular forecourt and into the main plaza. They were followed by the silent Advocate. Taunton noticed the direction of Sean’s scowl and said, “Cylian risked her position to alert me.”
Sean stifled his protest. But he wasn’t satisfied. Not by a long shot. Dillon apparently agreed, for he muttered, “She could have warned us. Should have, in fact.”
Taunton replied, “I specifically directed her to keep you in the dark. If Kaviti had even suspected what I planned, he would have found a way to block my entry.”
Dillon did not respond.
Taunton indicated the people who watched their progress across the plaza. “As it is, I was able to alert allies within the Assembly. As did your assigned Advocate. Too many people know about this travesty of justice now. Kaviti can’t pretend it didn’t take place.”
Dillon asked, “What will happen to him?”
“Forced retirement, I hope. At the very least, I’m expecting a public rebuke.”
Sean exchanged a glance with his brother. Dillon was equally unimpressed. “So, you’d be happy with a slap on the wrist?”
“Actually, I would. Quite satisfied, in fact.”
Dillon protested, “That joker locked us up. He did his best to strip away our futures.”
Taunton pointed them between two buildings that looked like Grecian temples on steroids. The paving stones and the sides to all the buildings were etched and colored with the planetary emblems of a hundred and nineteen worlds. “You’re free,” he replied. “You are both reinstated. In fact, in the eyes of many your status has been elevated.”
Cylian spoke for the first time since addressing the tribunal. “Not to mention how Kaviti’s faction has been handed a public censure.”
“Precisely.” Taunton’s goal was a stone bench overlooking the chest-high wall rimming the cliff. Dillon had never been here before, so he did what every first visitor did, which was gape. Beyond the wall was a six-hundred-foot drop, down to a ribbon of beach the same color as the stone plaza. The largest ocean on Serena stretched out before them.
Dillon whistled at the drop. “What’s to keep people from taking a dive?”
“There’s a shield rimming the whole plaza,” Sean said.
“For real?”
“It’s too far out to touch, but if you toss a stone it will spark.”
Dillon caught Sean’s expression and said, “Elenya brought you here?”
There was no need to tell them how he and Elenya had selected a bench farther along the rim as their very own.
He waited until Dillon had taken a seat beside the commander. Then he said, “What did you mean by Kaviti’s faction?”
Taunton jerked his chin at Cylian. “Tell them.”
She settled against the wall beside Sean and said, “Within the Assembly there is a secretive group seeking power. Kaviti is one of their more outspoken members.”
Taunton told Dillon, “There’s a great deal more at stake than the arrest of you and your brother.”
Sean realized Dillon was the focal point. Sean felt jarred and bruised by the day’s events, not to mention the jail time. He preferred to have this chance to step back and observe. Taunton’s words confirmed his suspicions that the commander had not involved himself in order to correct an injustice. The false imprisonment of two brothers was not something that would attract this man’s attention. Taunton wanted something.
Taunton continued, “I represent a faction that is troubled by how some within the Assembly believe they are above the law. Thanks to Cylian, we have transformed your shadow trial into a public display of their abuses. We are in the process of preparing for a very real and very serious—”
“I accept,” Dillon said.
Taunton leaned back.
“You brought me here to sell me on the idea of helping. Fine. Save your windup. I’m ready.”
Taunton exchanged a glance with Cylian. “Actually, it was the Advocate who alerted me to your potential.”
“Your files are most impressive,” she said.
“Right now, I need an individual with your character, combined with a warrior’s training,” Taunton went on. He looked at Sean. “I am certain there will be a role for you as well.”
Sean shook his head. “I’m not really interested in enlisting.”
Cylian frowned in disappointment, but Taunton said, “Your sentiments are understandable, given what you’ve just been through. Perhaps in time you will reconsider.”
Sean doubted it. “Maybe.”
“I will count that as an affirmative.” Taunton pointed out over the cliff. “Be so good as to tell me what is missing from this scene.”
Dillon frowned at the request. But Sean knew what the commander meant. “No storms, no tides, no waves, no currents,” he said. “Serena has no moons.”
“Correct.” Taunton waved at the endless sheet of blue. “Visitors see this and think, ‘How peaceful. How calm. How safe.’ But down below the surface, monsters roam.”
Dillon said, “I thought the Serenese monster was a myth.”
“That is as intended. Centuries ago, the sea beasts were expunged from public records. It was a futile and silly act. History has been rewritten by people who prefer good publicity to the truth. The monsters were considered a threat to their concept of idyllic superiority.”
Cylian said, “Serena has not known war in two thousand years. They claim to live in peace with all things. The Serenese people like to assume that they discovered the ancient records because Serena is the center of the human universe.”
Taunton snorted his disdain. “Back in the age of seagoing vessels, the monsters preyed upon isolated ships. Convoys were never touched, so it was easy to ignore the few survivors who spoke of beasts so large they consumed entire vessels in one gulp.” He pointed out beyond the stone wall. “These supposedly calm waters are a fitting metaphor for today’s Assembly. On the surface, all is orderly and tranquil. But down below, hidden by shadows and legal design, monsters prey on the weak and gather strength.”
“Kaviti,” Sean said.
“He is most certainly one of them, but less powerful than he wishes. Others see him as a threat to their secret ways. He is pompous, and he reckons he should be supreme leader. He was easy prey. The ones we suspect are in control may use this as a means of disposing of him.”
Sean asked, “Why are we here?”
“I and a few concerned others are bound together in a struggle to uphold the Human Assembly’s founding principles.” Taunton’s gaze never left Dillon. “It is not too late for you to retreat. The task I have in mind could cost you everything. Hunting such a secretive enemy is not without dire peril.”
Dillon replied, “It feels like I’ve spent my whole life waiting for somebody to speak those words.”
Taunton nodded. “Go back to the Academy and pack your bags. You will only be returning there to teach.”