Page 17

Priorities

Ultima: Rio

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L ynn and the twins storm into my office for a status report on Natasha’s Elite excursion from earlier tonight. I chug my raspberry soda, nose fizzing from the carbonation.

“So, how’d it go?” I suppress a burp.

Derrick smacks his teeth. “Drake was right. She ain’t ready, plain and simple. She had the earpiece and everything! Rio, when I tell you that Natasha completely derped and said a bunch of nonsense, I mean she REALLY screwed up and looked more suspicious than when she walked in. Terrible acting! Zero out of ten.”

My jaw drops. “What? But she was at the library and randomly remembered one of the Elite members, like it was no biggie. I thought she was fine.”

“Well, NOT ANYMORE,” Eric groans. “She remembers nothing about Elite, AND she collapsed in the lobby when we got back. She’s in the infirmary now.”

“Interesting,” Lynn murmurs. “If her memories are sporadic, what does this mean for the procedure? Is she stable enough to keep? Or toss away?”

I swallow hard and avoid her gaze.

“Neither! Let’s just put her in a box and ship her back to Elite like a present. Where is Drake, by the way?” Eric asks.

“Busy with other matters,” I mumble. Like trying to figure out how to approach his love interest being a tree! But he is only as safe as I allow him to be. Evangeline being part of Elite is complicated, but it benefits us if we can get her to talk about her friend. If I must manipulate Drake, then so be it.

I just wish I wasn’t so hasty with brainwashing Natasha; I could’ve learned so much before she lost those memories, if she cooperated.

“There is still time to find her, Commander,” Lynn says. “The night is not over yet.”

“Where in the ass noodle of Naven are we gonna find Malice?” Eric pulls on a stray thread of the office carpet. “We’d have to search all six islands.”

I scratch my chin. “Not Sapphire. No one goes there.”

Derrick snorts and it almost sounds like he choked. “Dude, that’s just one island, though. Sapphire is the home of transportation. If there’s anywhere we should search for a dragon killer, it’s there since they tame and train dragons as—” His mockery tone pairs with his fingers air quoting, “—TRANSPORTATION.”

My desk phone rings from an unknown caller ID. I take a deep breath and reluctantly answer.

“Hello, Ultima Commander Rio Shackler’s office.”

“Commander Rio, this is Commander Rebecca Foster.”

I lean back in my chair and place the call on speaker for the others to hear. The twins fist bump and simultaneously flick their long, purple lizard tongues with sinister grins.

“Rebecca, what a pleasure to hear from you.”

Her voice is tight and to the point. “I’d like to say the same, Commander, but I’m afraid I have a few complaints I need to address with you immediately.”

“R-Regarding?”

“First, you provided false information regarding Natasha Redly, who we’ve confirmed was residing in Ultima. Second, you’ve sent Natasha to Elite as—I guess one may say—a mole to gather information about my team.”

“I... I’m not sure—”

“Commander, we’ve addressed the team member for the disruption she brought to Ultima with her snakes. What you’ve done on Emerald Island and continue to do is harassment. I enjoyed when we handled things maturely, but I can’t foresee that happening anymore.”

Static dances through the receiver and into my computer. The screen flickers as I calm my stress levels, but the lights in the office dim. Lynn looks around as the twins are pressed up against my desk, staring at me.

“Rebecca, my deepest apologies. I should’ve come to you sooner about some matters I’ve been privy to.”

“You should have. I’ve already filed a complaint for contempt to Queen Oona and Master Cedric, but this is just a courtesy call. Have a good evening.”

I’m left with the dial tone on my end as I slowly put the phone down, mouth hanging open. My expression matches everyone else’s in the room. I didn’t think it’d come to this. Now I’m really screwed.

Eric scratches his head. “A complaint for contempt is—”

“ARE WE GETTING A DEFICIENCY?” Derrick screams. Lynn’s eyes enlarge at an alarming rate that she takes three big strides to smack the back of Derrick’s head.

“Shut up!” she hisses. “People may hear you.”

I nod, feeling the heaviness in my head and shoulders. The office lights flicker again, and then my phone buzzes from a text from Master Cedric wanting to have our rescheduled meeting. Immediately.

I need to delegate.

“Lynn, ask Katarzyna about her grandma and Wren, we need answers. Derrick, find Drake; he’s not responding to my texts. Eric, call King Remington regarding Wave Riding Season. Let’s meet up for dinner later.”

The group separates as I head upstairs to Master Cedric’s office, heart pounding through my armpits and drumming loud in my ears. I didn’t think Elite would take it this far, but a possible deficiency on Ultima is not a good look at all. Sure, it can go away in a year’s time, but it only takes four more consecutive times within a year before potentially losing funding. Lost funding means less resources, layoffs, until eventually... closure. Can I potentially screw up four more times? Yes.

But a deficiency only matters if the monarch rules it as such and Queen Oona is relatively lenient toward us. Elite may never get anywhere with this complaint.

My shoes squeak across the floors until I’m outside the metal door with Master Cedric’s name etched in a chilling font. When I enter, the mist of the room crawls up my arms instantly. The low hum in the room is due to all the surveillance screens operating on his wall.

This man operates in the shadows, so I wait for the ceiling lights to flash on. Master Cedric stands by the TVs, toothpick in his mouth.

“M-Master Cedr—”

“Commander Rio, what the absolute fuck.”

My shoulders bunch up to my ears as I try to hide behind my naivety. My face flames like an inferno ready to rotate my body like a cooking hotdog over a fire.

Just let me have the verbal lashing... or give me the pain.

“I give you approval for one thing and you go rogue?” Cedric questions. “I greenlit ONE request to Emerald Island for the gem, and since then, Agent Steed is ambushing Elite BACK on Emerald, Agent Redly is being let loose on Garnet, questioning ELITE? Why did the Fincher Agents get drunk on Topaz representing Ultima, huh? How did our members get petrified before security finally intervened?”

My rap sheet is worse than I thought when it’s presented to me on a silver platter of failures. I gulp and feel it fall into my stomach.

Cedric stares at me with his penetrating hazel eyes, hair always readily slicked back with the tufts of gray on the sides. His red suit jacket is draped behind his chair while his matching pants compliment his purple shirt. The clenching of his jaw is so visible, I almost feel like he’s imagining crushing my skull between his teeth.

“My deepest apologies, sir,” I whisper. “I-I wanted to run a few items by you, but we’ve been missing each other.”

“What an asinine excuse,” Master Cedric spits. “You are to focus on the missions we receive and nothing else. I hired you because you proved to me you were motivated and didn’t tolerate nonsense. Don’t make me regret that decision, and don’t make me have to do more work than I already do, because you’re not going to like it.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

“We are the Protective Dragon Agents, not the Rogue Ninjas of Zeala. Am I clear?”

I nod. “Yes, sir.”

The ringing is faint in my ears, but the tension builds until the humming from the screens disappear and a low rumble clogs my hearing. Cedric wears a slight vein on the side of his neck as he continues his death glare at me. The sound squeezes and pushes on my temples before shifting into an agonizing throb that pulsates to the top of my head. Something far worse than what a migraine can ever be.

I brace myself, waiting for the pain when blood drips out of my right ear.

Then the sensation is gone as fast as it came.

“Get the hell out. I need to prepare for the meeting with Queen oopty loopty Oona on the COC. I’ll keep you posted on details once they’re finalized.”

I waste no time sprinting out his office with tears at the brim of my eyes. My hands tremble at my side as I stiffly walk back downstairs to the lobby, hoping no one catches me in my vermillion red, shameful, puffy face.

A text from Derrick tells me they’re in the basement with pizza for dinner.

On my transit to the library, I run into Drake who looks like I’m the last person he wants to see, but boy, is he just who I’m looking for.

“Drake–hey!” I call him out in the lobby, drawing the attention of members heading to the cafeteria. “Don’t you dare disappear into that wall. My office. NOW.”

I follow behind him so he doesn’t pull in any fast moves and slam the door behind us into my office. The lights hazily blink on with uncertainty as Drake claps his hands while standing in the middle of the office. I come around him and rest against my desk, grabbing a tissue to dab away the blood from my ear that’s still giving me phantom pain.

“A complaint of contempt was filed against Ultima,” I begin, steepling my hands. Drake’s sad eyes express curiosity like a little puppy. “And somehow, Elite knew we had Natasha all along and I don’t think it all points back to her brief visit.”

Drake turns his head, eying me with a slight squint. “What’re you saying?”

“Perhaps maybe you’ve been entangled a bit too much with that girl. There’s no policy on external relationships creating conflicts of interest, but maybe there should be.”

“No, I disagree.”

I shrug, smirking. “Fine by me, but I’m reassigning you to administration, Drake Strife. No more field work, or involvement in major missions. It’s for your own good.”

He crosses his arms. “That’s gonna be a hard disagree from me.”

“I don’t care. I’m your friend, but at the end of the day I am still your Commander. You can either be like Clyde who is still recovering in the infirmary, or you can be like Natasha if you disagree so much. Choose your pain, Drake.”

He scoffs and looks away. Mouth twisted with scorn. “Is that all, sir?”

“Yes, you’re dismissed.”

And just like that, Drake leaves my office, hand gripped tightly to the knob as if he wants to slam my door. But he doesn’t.

I make my way to the library and smell the trail of pepperoni and bacon all the way down the hall. The librarian looks absolutely annoyed with his constant eye rolls from the high pitch laughter at the back of the room. Lynn has a full smile with a tall smoothie frosting in her hand.

“Hey. Sorry I’m late.” I take the last chair at the round table and open the box of sheet pizza in the middle of the table. “Catch me up, now.”

I start with my first square slice while Eric goes over chatting with King Remington. Wave Riding Season will happen with no plans of canceling or postponing. Only problem is Queen Oona has already told him about our possible deficiency, so he’s hesitant on having us on standby with Elite present.

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit! How did I screw this up?

Lynn tells us Katarzyna is in a state of shock and isn’t speaking. The nerves and anger unravel within me, but I catch myself after realizing she was petrified and then stabbed in the leg within a short timeframe.

I eat another slice while we turn to Derrick for his little assignment.

“Drake didn’t respond to me.” He smacks his teeth.

I wave my greasy hand. “Already handled that.”

“How should we proceed, Commander? There seems to be a lot going on for us to keep up with, respectfully,” Lynn says. The twins start up the antics, bouncing ideas off each other in fast speed while Lynn rolls her eyes.

I mindlessly grab a third slice.

Listening to my members brings the realization of how much I’ve been reacting to things around me. There are so many floating variables of what’s going on that I’ve lost sight of the real mission at hand: making sure my team is okay and proceeding with operations as usual. It is strange we aren’t being deployed, but who am I to question the reason?

Wren, the missing girl, Elite, Wave Riding Season, using Natasha as bait, all of that, it’s mindless and not important. I need to stop meddling in unnecessary stuff that’s getting Ultima in trouble. This isn’t what I signed up for.

The heartburn is killing me, so I close the box in disgust so I’m not tempted to grab another saucy slice.

“We’re going to resume operations as normal. It’s nice we helped Elite extract the gem, but everything else is strictly requests I get from emails. No more snooping around,” I inform them.

Lynn frowns. “What about that girl? Malice?”

“We can only change what we have control over, and whatever feelings she harbors toward Ultima is not something we can change, but actively encourage to reconsider. We should not bother her.” My tone is definitive and well received when they all nod.

The twins shamelessly finish the pizza with marinara sauce slathered on their faces. The library is saturated with the smell of food likely clinging to the dust on the books. The librarian walks around spraying a freshener with a scrunched nose in our direction.

We leave the library with full stomachs and—at least for me—a burning chest. I want to burp so bad, but it feels painful. We trudge up the stairs, but a vibration underneath us stops me.

Thunder crackles outside, but before we can react, a visible shockwave of air ruptures the space around us. Lynn and the twins stumble down the stairs, while other members walking by at the top lose balance like we’re trapped in an earthquake.

“What the hell was that?” Eric gasps.

Screams fill the halls and glasses shatter. The tremors stop after five more seconds, allowing me to look back at my members.

“Everyone okay?”

“Commander,” Lynn calls to me, holding up her phone. “Another dragon was just killed on Garnet Island.”

“Great, we’re totally gonna die now,” Derrick whines. He runs up the stairs, nearly knocking me over and skipping every other step with Eric behind him sprinting back into the lobby. Lynn grimaces but is nearly on their heels.

“Where are you going? This is not the time for shenanigans!” she yells after them.

The twins wait by the front doors, chatting up the security agents with their ping-pong exchanges. Eric beams at me, but I cut in their conversation to glare at the twins.

“Don’t even dare leave this base to drink. You two are still suspended from leaving for unsupervised activities because of your last outing,” I tell them.

“No fair.” Eric juts out his bottom lip.

Lynn is behind me, scrolling through the news coverage on her phone with creased black brows. Her watery, musical note-like Trace Mark has an unusual rapid flash. Her pink lips press in a firm, straight line, but her green eyes give her anxiety away.

“Report back to your rooms.” I look around with lightning building inside me. “I need to check to see if everyone is okay.”

I send out an alert on the app for everyone onsite to report back to their rooms or head home if they commute until I’ve done a full sweep of the building and identified any damages. One security agent walks with me through every crevice and shadow of the base. I find Master Cedric in passing, hands in his pockets leisurely strolling with another security agent. My breath hitches as we pass, but he gives a simple nod and continues his conversation with his security partner.

The only real damage is in the cafeteria and kitchen. Pots and pans are scattered and shards of drinkware and plates liter the floor in a jigsaw puzzle. A few kitchen staff who don’t live in the base are still there cleaning up the mess, so I jump in and help.

I t’s after midnight when I finish inspecting the entire building. Master Cedric sent out an announcement on the U-Knit app, offering a leave of absence for anyone traumatized by the frequent dragon murders. It’s unusually considerate for him. There are pressing matters I need to figure out before bed.

My office door is cracked open just as I left it, so I pop in just to check my emails before bed.

I toss my phone on the desk and move around to turn on the computer. Before I sit, I notice a shadow in the room’s corner. I rub my eyes and squint enough to make out a person sitting in the egg chair with a disembodied smile. A shout escapes through my throat as I nearly jump on my desk.

“Mr. Shackler. Sorry to frighten you.”

Mildred sits with her thick legs barely crossed.

“Wait... how did you—”

“I was escorted here.” Mildred intently files her nails. “Patience is how our world was built.”

The computer is ready, so I cautiously sit down and open my emails. My breathing shakes as I notice a shadow in the hallway. Mildred glances at the door and then goes back to filing.

“Oh, that’s just a Guard. Do not fret,” she says.

I fold my trembling hands on my desk, hoping she doesn’t notice.

“It’s awfully late, Advisor. What brings you here at this time of night?”

“Curiosity fetched for me and wouldn’t let go. My thoughts are with my sweet Fae.”

I gulp and nod eagerly. “We haven’t made any real progress because of other priorities, but after some thought, I don’t think Master Cedric would want to be involved in this either.”

“That’s forgivable. He’s a sour little one, isn’t he?” she asks, finally looking at me with those sunken, dark eyes. She puts the file stick in her suit jacket and stands up with clenched fists.

“We have enough happening at the moment. I can investigate it on my spare time, but not under Ultima business,” I reply. A quick glance at my emails brings a frown when I read one of the subject lines. I knew eventually I’d be contacted by King Jonah for that incident.

Mildred approaches my desk and leans forward, her stare penetrating through my mental defenses. “Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are marvelous? It’s a rare color.”

“Um... th-thank you. Teal eyes are from my father’s side, but I’m the only one left with them.” I lightly tap on my desk.

“I see.” Mildred straightens up and fixes her black jacket. “You’ve been a great help to me, Rio. I hope Sophie is flourishing.”

“Sh-she’s... uh yes.”

Beads of sweat build on my forehead while I continue drumming my fingers on the desk. Mildred maintains her smile and reaches in her jacket to pull out her business card.

“Please stay in touch. I wish you the best of luck with everything, and hope that if you can help that you make better headway than I do,” she whispers. “Have a good night.” I take the business card and tape it to my computer monitor. I smile back and fold my hands again.

Her tall stature must duck through my door frame to leave with the Guard. I sigh, leaning back in my chair and staring at my computer screen until I daze and think about the whole night. Bringing up my mom leaves an unsettling feeling in my stomach. No doubt she’ll come back, and I don’t want her to.

Snapping out of my zoning, I power off the computer, no longer motivated to work and trudge to my room. Scotland is still awake. He grabs a pile of blankets and his hand-held device.

“Hey! Me and the guys are gonna camp out in the rec room and play video games, you in?” he asks.

I yawn, pulling my jacket off and tossing it in the corner. My shoulders slump from the weight of a long day as I sit on the edge of my bed. “I’ll stay here, thanks for the invite.”

Scotland nods. “Cool! See ya tomorrow! I have my keys.”

As he leaves though, the twins bust into the room with extra pillows, blankets, and a hefty bag of cheese chips. I quickly get up and point at them, suddenly awake and pissed off.

“No. NO. Get out and let me sleep! Bother me tomorrow.”

Derrick fake cries his way out the room while Eric draws tear streak lines down his face with a grimace. I lock the door before plopping on my bed and throwing the cover over me.

I jolt awake from the banging on my door. Ignoring it, I grab my phone from the window ledge to check the time. The banging continues, followed by a few knob turns. It’s still early, but I drag myself up anyway to see who’s waiting.

“Good, you are awake.” Lynn wastes no time shoving herself into my room with the twins dangling behind her. At least they waited to bother me as requested, I guess. I quickly grab a shirt and a pair of shorts to cover my boxers.

Derrick comes close to my ear. “She’s crazy, Rio. Five more seconds of waiting, and she was gonna stomp the door down.”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” I whisper back.

Lynn searches the room and grabs my TV remote to turn it on. The three of us awkwardly linger, watching Lynn flip through channels until it settles on the Emerald Island News station. She turns to us as if hearing my thoughts.

“Trust me, this is important,” she says.

King Jonah is on the screen, in the middle of a speech in front of his golden gates to his palace. A short man with silver and mahogany hair, blended like a milky mocha swirl with a tiny mustache. He squints from the sun and flashes of cameras but maintains confidence. A hint of uncertainty twinkles as he speaks.

“We will work hard to provide what we can for Zeala, but we are asking for your unconditional support as we face dark times,” he states. “We are responding as fast as we can to this crisis and have several hotlines in place to support the needs of our citizens. I will provide daily updates as we fight on.”

I scratch my eyebrow and suppress a yawn. My feet are cold from the floor, so I grab a pair of black socks while trying to pay attention to the TV.

“What am I missing here?” I ask.

“The dragons are officially an endangered species,” Lynn murmurs with crossed arms. She mutes the TV and for some reason, the twins think that’s an opportunity to make a home on my bed and stretch like freeloaders. Lynn’s eyes flicker at them and back to me. “They follow me everywhere now. I do not know why.”

I shrug. “Do you think that death from yesterday pushed Zeala over the edge?”

The TV pans an overhead shot of the farms on Emerald Island. Miles of dry blackened fields stretch beyond the screen until it switches to shots of farmers struggling to pick crops from rotten roots. A shot of a little girl crying stays for ten seconds before transitioning to another cameraman walking through the farmer’s market. It’s evident there’s panic from the surge of customers buying and cleaning out the vendors until their baskets and barrels are empty.

“Wow, this is bad for Emerald Island,” I whisper.

“Oh. You think it’s just Emerald?” Derrick asks.

“He just woke up,” Lynn sneers, leaning toward him with that scrunched, disdainful button nose of hers. Derrick scoots further onto my bed until he’s pressed against the wall. Eric smiles smugly, unbothered and wrapped into a burrito with my covers.

I flex my tingling hands as my body goes cold. “Wha—wait, what does this mean?”

They take me outside, but not without me noticing forlorn expressions on passing members in the halls. Eerie sobs and whispers echo into the lobby. The receptionist looks frantically at her computer, shaking her head and mumbling to herself.

Standing outside, the nightmare on TV is real, except it’s on Onyx Island, too.

The front lawns of Ultima are ashen, along with the garden and bushes along the side of the building. Our once vibrant yellow hyacinths droop in black rot. The trees have lost their leaves as if winter arrived, and the blistering sun beams right through their nakedness, creating a skeletal shell.

Eric nudges me. “So, uh... the news hasn’t said anything about the other islands yet—not like it’d make a difference on Sapphire because it’s practically dead there all the time, anyway. Our folks won’t be able to tell, so I haven’t heard from them yet.”

“If we’ve been hit, along with Emerald, I’m sure other islands aren’t doing well either,” I whisper, still surveying the area. “The monarchs may each declare an emergency.”

“That’d be great.” Derrick puts one sassy hand on his hip. “Then maybe the Superiors will come down and fix this.”

My skin is prickly and hot despite the chilling gusts of wind hitting us at the top steps of the base. Words can’t describe the sheer and utter disbelief I feel from what Zeala is becoming.

Lynn turns to me, arms still crossed. “Well, Commander? What do you think?”

“What do I think?” I gulp and run my fingers through my dry hair. “If we don’t figure this out soon, then we’re all screwed.”