The Botanist's Game, page 9
Their hands clasped, and it looked more like an arm wrestling match than a handshake.
Ana saw Delphi whisper something, but she couldn’t make out the words. Adam looked as if he was trying to crush all the bones in Delphi’s hand.
Adam released his hand and stepped back, looking murderous. Delphi sneered in return.
The buzzer sounded.
Ana expected Delphi to go straight for Adam, but instead, he bolted backward. Two others closed in on Adam. He shot the first, but the second caught him by surprise, freezing him instantly.
Ana forced herself to look away. She needed to stay focused. She needed to find a spot to run or hide. Should she try for the top of the dune?
There was no time. Delphi was moving in on her. She ran in the only direction available, sending wild shots behind her and hoping for luck. She had none.
And now she was out of room. She’d reached the perimeter. The only way out was to rush out and catch him by surprise.
Why wasn’t he shooting her? She had nowhere to go.
He was an arm’s length away now. He lifted his gun and knocked hers out of her hands before she could pull the trigger.
“Winner of the challenge,” he said in a mocking tone.
Ana tried to kick him in the shin.
He caught her leg in mid-air, and she fell back against the sand. Bright pain flashed. Just as Delphi was about to shoot her, the simulation froze. Bold Rockwell called out Ana’s name. “Ms. Halt, you have a visitor.”
Breathing hard, Delphi stared at her as if considering whether he should just kick her in the face now. But there were too many eyes on them. Reluctantly, he remained still.
He did not, however, move back to give her space. In order to get past him, she was forced to brush his body.
“Next time,” he whispered.
She shivered and hurried out of the game area. As she crossed the red line, the match resumed.
The woman standing beside Commander Bold Rockwell was immaculate with gray hair and rubies that dripped from her ears like droplets of blood. Ana recognized her as Lady Jacobs from her visit to the capital, Samuel’s grandmother.
“I was wondering, my dear, if you might take a stroll with me.”
Ana’s eyes widened in surprise, but she recovered quickly. “It would be my pleasure.”
While Ana was wary of everyone on the council, Lady Jacobs had been an advocate during the Winter Ball. She had suggested they give Ana time to demonstrate her powers. Which Ana had done, at least for those who hadn’t watched the video in freeze-frame over and over. She hoped Lady Jacobs was not as meticulous as General Rockwell.
About halfway down the corridor, Ana blurted out, “What are you doing here? I mean, it’s a pleasure to see you, of course, I’m just surprised to see you so far from the capital.”
“You weren’t expecting us? Why, we’ve talked with all of your teammates, the opposing team, and the students on the environmental planning committee. The only one we haven’t spoken to is you. We thought you’d prefer to talk to us here rather than journey all the way to the capital.”
“Is the entire council here?”
Lady Jacobs started down the marble staircase. “Oh, no, no, no. Only DuBois and I are here in the flesh. The council was adamant that a representative be present. I offered to take on the task. I thought, perhaps, I might also visit my grandson.”
Ana was suddenly filled with anxiety for Samuel. He had only just been released from prison, a place where his family had put him. Was his grandmother here to return him? Thinking of it, she squared her shoulders and clenched her jaw. “What do you want with him?”
“I was hoping to see him and patch things up.”
“If you cared so much about his welfare, why didn’t you get him out of prison? You’re the head of your family, aren’t you? Don’t they listen to you?”
“Oh, I gave up trying to control my children long ago. Samuel is their son, and these are their mistakes to make.”
“It’s not like they let him eat too much candy. They held him in solitary confinement for months and removed his eye mod.”
“I wasn’t aware of the eye mod.” She frowned. “Well, that’s certainly no way to win him back.”
A low growl escaped Ana’s lips before she could stop herself. “He will never come back to you.”
“My, it seems you have grown quite attached to him.”
Ana waited for the fallout.
Instead, a soft smile graced Lady Jacobs’s face, and she let out a small chuckle. “I’m actually very pleased. You see, Ana, it’s difficult for people of our standing to find true devotion, especially outside of the family. And, while my relationship with my grandson could certainly be better, I do admire him. He’s brilliant, although rash. If he were to apply himself, I believe he could one day claim the family council seat.”
Before Ana could properly react, they had reached their destination—a room just down from the Headmistress’s office. Lady Jacobs opened the door. Inside, the council was already waiting at a large board room table. There were five of them plus a woman Ana didn’t recognize. Only Ana, Lady Jacobs, and Councilman DuBois were physically present. The rest of the council were attending virtually in holographic form.
She looked down the line of them. DuBois sparkled with his usual charisma, rushing forward to incline his head and greet her. Despite his act of welcome, Ana suspected he really wanted to be here in person, so he could use his gift. She had a feeling it wouldn’t work if he were virtually present.
Behind him, she saw Sir Arkwright and Lady Fleur sitting next to one another at the long table. Ana was grateful Arkwright was attending virtually. The last time she had seen him, he had attempted to cut her with his knife in order to test her healing abilities. Beside him, Lady Fleur looked impatient. Today, she wore an emerald dress and a circlet of white blossoms atop her golden hair. She would have looked beautiful if it weren’t for her malicious eyes.
In the next seat, there was the unfamiliar woman—mousy in appearance and tight-lipped. And finally, at the very end of the table, Sir Noble. His holographic projection was so good, she could almost swear he was really here. He looked jumpy.
Lady Jacobs moved to take a seat beside him.
Ana noticed there was one notable absence—General Rockwell. Why wasn’t he here? While she’d usually prefer to avoid him, this seemed like a time where his presence could be helpful. Last time, he’d been the one to stop Arkwright from using his knife.
She shifted on her feet uncomfortably. DuBois closed the door behind her, and she was alone with the council— two in the flesh and three digitally. She didn’t like her odds, five to one. But, at least this time, she didn’t have an assassin spy standing behind her pretending to be her supporter.
Councilman DuBois joined the rest of the council at the table. “We’ve been waiting to talk to you for two months. You’ve been…difficult to locate.”
The rest of the council gave signs of agreement.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. How can I help you?”
“We’ve come to talk to you about the challenge. Just as a formality, of course,” DuBois added.
“Of course,” she echoed.
“As you know, we’ve talked to all the rest of your teammates, and you’re the only one outstanding.”
“Well, I’d be happy to answer any questions. Although, I think you know more than I do at this point. For instance, I know Madame Bali posed as my adviser and tried to kill me in the dome, but I don’t know who hired her, how she died, or even who she really was. Maybe you could enlighten me about those things.”
“Of course. Of course. All in good time. But first, let’s start at the beginning. We’ll need to gather the preliminary details. We’ve brought along a third-party arbiter to aid us in this process.” He gestured toward the mousy woman. Her expression remained unchanged. “So, shall we proceed?”
“Aye, get on with it,” Arkwright said.
The woman nodded. “Please state your name for the record.”
“Anabella Halt.”
“And what is your relationship to the Seven?”
Ana tried to answer the question with as much authority as she could muster. “I am Anabella Halt, heir to the Halt family council seat, daughter of the southern province, monarch of the island.”
The interviewer nodded. “Thank you. Now, where were you during the challenge?”
“I was in the dome.”
“And how did you come to be there?”
“I was a member of a challenge team.” She hoped they wouldn’t pry into the nonexistent love triangle between herself, Adam, and Holden. A love triangle that had been more about the boys than her. She didn’t want to answer any questions that might give away Holden’s secret. That he had the family gift. Something he wasn’t ready to tell anyone.
“And why were you, a Halt, participating in a Rockwell challenge?” she asked, peering over her sharp glasses.
“Because I felt I could assist Holden, and we’re friends.”
Lady Fleur interrupted. “Interesting that you would choose Holden Rockwell’s team when you appeared to be quite intimate with Adam Rockwell.”
At the word intimate, Ana’s ears turned pink. “Is there a question?” she demanded.
Lady Fleur met her eyes. “Yes. Why did you join Holden Rockwell’s team instead of Adam Rockwell’s team?”
It was none of her business what Adam and Holden’s friendship was like, and it was certainly none of her business what Ana and Adam’s relationship was like. She decided to go with a diplomatic answer.
If General Rockwell were here, she felt he would agree. She could just hear his voice now. “That’s Rockwell business,” he would have boomed.
Ana tried to channel him. “The challenge is a Rockwell family tradition. It doesn’t serve to divide the family or to pick favorites. Its purpose is to drive excellence, challenge young Rockwells, and establish future hierarchies for command positions. As far as I can see, there was no wrong choice to make. I’m sure the General would agree.”
Several council members nodded. They couldn’t question this answer without invoking General Rockwell’s wrath when he heard the recording at some later date.
The arbiter cleared her throat. “If it’s acceptable to the council, I’ll continue.”
“Yes. Please excuse my interruption,” Lady Fleur said.
“Not to worry,” Arkwright said. “It was an excellent observation.”
The arbiter picked back up with her list of questions. “What skill did you bring to the team?”
Ana looked at her, and continuing to channel General Rockwell, she stared at the woman as if she were a bug. “What an insulting question? What skill do you think I brought? I’m a healer. A valuable skillset.”
“Of course, I’m just reading the questions as written.”
“I’d be interested to know who wrote them.”
The woman did not answer. Instead, she moved on. “Spending so much time in the dome must be a very bonding experience.”
Ana nodded.
“Would you say the people on your team were all trustworthy?”
“100%.”
“If you had to rate them from most to least trustworthy, how would you order them?”
Ana was getting angry now. They had pulled her from class to interrogate her, not about Madame Bali but about her teammates. She glared at the arbiter. “I wouldn’t.”
“Excuse me?”
“I wouldn’t rank them.”
“But the question—”
“Is not going to be answered.”
The council watched with interest but remained silent.
The arbiter moved on. “Did you have any knowledge of who was on the planning committee?”
“No. I didn’t know anything about them. They didn’t tell us, so we wouldn’t be able to cheat.”
“Ah, but it’s clear that you did have help,” Arkwright interrupted. “After all, you knew information about the dome before your arrival on Obsidian.”
“Yes, we could see you had maps,” Lady Jacobs agreed.
“We did, but not because we knew who was on the committee. Shay Noble has extraordinary technical skills, just like the rest of her family.” She inclined her head at the holographic projection of Councilmen Noble. “She was able to secure the information for us.”
Sir Noble let a small bit of pride creep into his expression.
“Just to be clear. She wasn’t breaking the rules. There was no rule saying you couldn’t hack into the system if you were able to.”
“Yes, but it was somewhat implied, wasn’t it?” Arkwright said.
DuBois interrupted, “As you all know, in a contract of law, implied does not count. If it’s not spelled out explicitly, then they were just being clever.”
Ana nodded. “Exactly! We wanted to gain the upper hand. By military rank and stats, the best students had already been selected. So, we decided to try something different. Something that might give us a chance at winning.”
“Well, you seem to have accomplished that. Shall we return to the arbiter’s questions?” DuBois asked.
The council fell silent.
“Is it true your team was able to alter the dome to protect your flag?”
Ana nodded.
“And this was also thanks to Shay Noble?”
“Yes. She’s very gifted with technology.”
“I should say so. It’s never been done in the hundreds of years the game has been played.”
“She’s a prodigy.”
“Perhaps,” Lady Fleur muttered. There was a glint in her eye.
“Are you accusing a Noble of misconduct?” Councilman Noble said, straightening himself.
“Are Nobles above such suspicion?”
“Leave it to a household such as your own to cast aspersions on the honorable.”
“See here, Noble. How would you feel if your next shipment of titanium was delayed?”
The argument continued for several minutes, in which Ana became dreadfully bored. Shipping arrangements and proprietary technology and legalities and logistics.
Finally, DuBois intervened. “Gentlemen, gentlemen, there’s no need to get into such a disagreement.”
Arkwright crossed his arms over his chest.
Ana realized that at some point during this disturbance Lady Jacobs had left the room unnoticed. Ana felt a stab of worry. Maybe, she was in their dorm right now. What would she do to him? What did she really want with Samuel?
“DuBois!” Lady Fleur hissed. “Are you attempting to use your gift again?”
Noble looked jumpier than ever.
“Yes,” Lady Fleur insisted. “I can almost feel the most noxious wave of amity rolling over me. Luckily, it has little effect from so far away. If you were to try such a thing with me in the room, I would wrap you in the jun-jun vine and see how your precious voice fares when your vocal cords have been melted by acid.”
That settled it. Lady Fleur was the most terrifying of the lot. Although, Arkwright still remained a close second. As Ana looked at the council members all arguing, she wondered if she could slip out of the room and follow Lady Jacobs. She took one step backward. And then another.
She had actually reached her hand for the doorknob when it opened, sending her stumbling forward and into a heap on the ground.
General Rockwell stormed into the room and barked, “What is the meaning of this?”
“Why, Councilman Rockwell, what a pleasure,” DuBois said, stepping forward and reaching out a hand.
Rockwell knocked his hand aside as if DuBois was nothing more than a mosquito. He stepped further into the room. “How dare you call a council session without me?”
“This is hardly a council session. And you were informed. Check your mail.”
“A message sent five minutes prior to a meeting is not an invitation. You obviously didn’t want me to be present. I find it impossible to believe you all dropped your schedules for this with no prior knowledge. And two of you just happened to be in town.”
“Believe what you want,” Arkwright said. “It doesn’t matter to us.”
He finally noticed Ana, still sprawled on the floor. “Ana, what are you doing down there? Which one of them did this to you?”
He didn’t give her a chance to answer. Instead, he reached down a strong arm and jerked her to her feet. “Stand behind me,” he instructed.
Then, he turned his attention back on the rest of the council. “No one speaks to a Rockwell without my knowledge.”
“She’s not a Rockwell,” Noble pointed out.
“That’s right,” said Lady Fleur. “She is a Halt and, more importantly, a key witness to the events in the dome.”
General Rockwell grabbed Ana’s left hand and held it in the air. “Do you see this ring? Does a betrothal mean nothing to you?”
“We were unaware,” Lady Fleur replied haughtily. “Seeing as how we were not invited to any occasion to celebrate.”
Ana snorted. Were they really offended they hadn’t been invited to an engagement party?
“None has been planned yet. We want adequate time to make sure the festivities are worthy of such a magnificent union.”
Ana fought the urge to laugh. How could these people be running an entire planet and other colonies too? They could hardly get along and fought over disagreements as petty as engagement announcements.
But she could see the true motivation was unrelated to the engagement party. They had wanted to get Ana alone to pump her for information about the Rockwells and her relationship with them. They were worried about the power dynamic of the council and how it might be shifting.
“Of course. Of course,” DuBois agreed. “But even still, you understand we must get at the heart of this matter.”
“Fine. Send your questions to my office. I will have Anabella deposed and make the recordings available to you. Anything additional?”
“But we’re already here,” DuBois pointed out. “We may as well complete what we’ve started.”
Rockwell leaned down in DuBois’s face and growled, “I said anything additional?”
“No, I suppose not.”
